Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended Tampa-area elected state prosecutor Andrew Warren (see this executive order, and this article in the Tampa Bay Times [Lawrence Mower]) for "neglect of duty." The core of DeSantis's stated basis seemed to be this:
- DeSantis cited Warren's having "publicly proclaimed in writing that he will not prosecute individuals who provide abortions in violation of Florida's criminal laws to protect the life of the unborn child."
- DeSantis cited Warren's having "acted as a law unto himself by instituting a policy during his current term of presumptive non-enforcement for certain criminal violations, including trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution."
- DeSantis also cited Warren's having publicly "pledge[d] to use our discretion and not promote the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare or trans gender people," but acknowledged that "the Florida Legislature has not enacted such criminal laws." DeSantis therefore didn't argue that this pledge itself was neglect of duty, but argued that it "prove[s] that Warren thinks he has authority to defy the Florida Legislature and nullify in his jurisdiction criminal laws with which he disagrees" and that this "fundamentally flawed and lawless understanding of his duties as a state attorney" led to his non-enforcement policy as to "trespassing at a business location, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution."
This helps show how varied executive government structures are in various jurisdictions in our country. In the federal system, of course, the President can generally fire any local U.S. Attorney, because the President is the one elected federal executive official who is in charge of the other executive officials. (There are some complications related to specially-appointed independent federal prosecutors, but that's a minor feature of the system.) In many states, on the other hand, prosecutors are elected by local voters and are basically answerable just to them. And in some other states, there's something of a mix, and indeed that seems to be the situation under the Florida Constitution, art. IV, sec. 7:
