TAMPA, Florida — A U.S. Circuit Judge signed off on an agreement to expedite its review of suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren's appeal in his federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The battle with DeSantis will continue as U.S. Circuit Judge Jill Pryor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted the motion to expedite the case. According to the court document, Warren could face DeSantis and his legal team in court as soon as May.
Warren sought to expedite the review because, according to his legal team as written it the request, "the public needs resolution at the earliest possible opportunity of whether the governor illegally removed the duly elected prosecutor in the state’s third most populous city," a spokesperson for Warren said in a news release.
Back in January, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that DeSantis did violate Warren's First Amendment rights by suspending him, but said the court didn't have the power to reinstate his position. Following the ruling, the court did ask DeSantis to rescind his suspension of the state attorney, but the governor has yet to do so.
Now that the federal court has granted the motion to expedite the appeal, the initial brief from Warren is due on March 13. The response brief from DeSantis is due April 12 and if Warren wishes to file a reply brief, it would be due April 26. Oral arguments in the case will be held the week of May 1 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Warren was elected in 2016 and 2020 as prosecutor of Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. He has said DeSantis overturned the will of voters by removing him from office.
10 Tampa Bay has reached out to DeSantis' office for comment on the matter and has not yet heard back.