Federal Appeals Court Rules Against DeSantis in Firing of DA

(StraightNews.org) – A federal appeals court has ruled against Floridian Governor Ron DeSantis and found that he violated the First Amendment rights of an attorney he suspended in 2022. DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for incompetence and neglect of duty after he vowed not to prosecute Floridians who violate the state’s new abortion laws, enacted following the overturn of Roe v Wade.

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously found that DeSantis “lacked probable cause to believe Warren neglected his duty or was incompetent.” Furthermore, US Circuit Judge Jill Pryor said the First Amendment prevented Governor DeSantis from “identifying a reform prosecutor and then suspending him to garner political benefit.”

When Governor DeSantis suspended Mr. Warren, he described him as a “Soros-backed DA.” Warren became a prosecutor in Hillsborough County in a surprise victory over the incumbent Republican and is described as a “thorn in the side of conservatives.” It is unknown whether left-wing billionaire George Soros backed Mr. Warren’s election, but newspaper reports describe that as “likely.”

According to the New York Post, Soros has spent around $40 million on campaigns for progressive District Attorneys. Among these is Portland DA Mike Schmidt, who received $320,000 from Soros, and among his first acts was to refuse to prosecute Black Lives Matter rioters in 2020. Soros likewise backed Larry Krasner in Philadelphia to the tune of $1.5 million – Krasner dropped the charges in 60% of the shooting cases in the city over a two-year period.

In Florida, Aramis Ayala became Orlando’s state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida with the help of $1.4 million from George Soros. Ayala went on to introduce educational programs in place of custodial sentences.

Nevertheless, Judge Pryor believed that DeSantis likely suspended Warren as a political campaign move to appear tough on Soros-DAs. The Governor’s office described the ruling as “an egregious encroachment on state sovereignty.” Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern said the authority to remove Warren sat with Florida’s Senate.