A 3-day trial over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ suspension of a twice-elected Hillsborough County state legal professional wrapped on Thursday, however a federal decide presiding over the lawsuit mentioned it may very well be weeks earlier than he releases a call.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle mentioned he might not have time earlier than Dec. 19 to totally delve into Andrew Warren’s allegations that the governor’s motion violated his First Amendment speech rights.
Warren, who was first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, advised reporters outdoors a federal courthouse in Tallahassee that he appeared ahead to Hinkle’s determination.
“A trial is a search for the truth. And over the past three days, everyone had the opportunity to hear the truth,” mentioned Warren, who testified on Tuesday.
DeSantis’ authorized counsel declined to remark after the trial.
The governor drew nationwide consideration on Aug. 4 when he suspended Warren, a Democrat, for “incompetence and willful defiance of his duties.”
Warren’s workforce has maintained the governor’s motion was politically motivated.
During closing arguments on Thursday, legal professional David O’Neil, who represents Warren, advised Hinkle that DeSantis’ suspension of Warren successfully was “an opportunity to kill three policy birds with one stone” by silencing a voice of opposition on the problems of abortion and medical remedy for transgender individuals and by displaying a tough-on-crime perspective.
DeSantis suspended Warren in an govt order that, partly, pointed to a letter Warren signed pledging to keep away from imposing a brand new legislation stopping abortions after 15 weeks of being pregnant.
Also, the governor focused a press release Warren joined condemning the criminalization of transgender individuals and gender-affirming care.
George Levesque, an legal professional who represents DeSantis, mentioned Warren’s actions had been within the position of a “policy maker” and shouldn’t be thought of a First Amendment violation.
But Hinkle famous that Warren was an elected official and expressed a necessity for politicians and candidates to have the ability to “express their views.”
Larry Keefe, an adviser to DeSantis often called the state’s “public safety czar” who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday, was a key determine on this week’s trial.
According to Keefe, DeSantis in December requested him if any state attorneys in Florida weren’t following the legislation. Keefe, a former U.S. legal professional appointed by then-President Donald Trump, mentioned he began an “ad hoc” inquiry into the problem by querying law-enforcement officers across the state.
“By the end of January or February, all roads were consistently leading to Mr. Warren,” he mentioned.
Warren “was regarded as a state attorney whose approach to his job was harmful,” who was “hostile and antagonistic toward law enforcement” and who was “negatively impacting law enforcement and their ability to protect people,” Keefe mentioned.
But Hinkle on Wednesday pressed Keefe on whether or not he solely sought enter from Republican legislation enforcement officers and people concerned in GOP politics.
As a prosecutor, Hinkle requested, “You would never do an investigation talking to just people on one side of the case.”
“That’s true,” mentioned Keefe, who repeatedly referred to as his probe a “look into” the problem that was not an “investigation.”
On Thursday, Hinkle puzzled if Keefe’s actions may very well be seen as a “one-sided inquiry” centered on legislation enforcement officers’ dissatisfaction with the criminal-justice reform advocate’s insurance policies relatively than on how Warren operated his workplace.
Hinkle additionally identified that an early draft of DeSantis’ govt order included a reference to progressive billionaire and political donor George Soros, in addition to the Democratic Party.
DeSantis additionally referenced Soros-backed prosecutors throughout an look on FOX News the evening of Warren’s suspension, the decide noticed.
But Hinkle, who usually interrupted Levesque throughout his closing remarks on Thursday, suggested the attorneys to not learn an excessive amount of into his line of questioning.
“I don’t know who is going to win,” the decide mentioned.
During opening arguments on Tuesday, legal professional Jean-Jacques Cabou, who represents Warren, advised Hinkle that DeSantis suspended the prosecutor “because of what he said and what he believes and because they’re different from what the governor believes.”
But Levesque on Tuesday argued that the Republican governor suspended Warren “because he was refusing to enforce the law.”
Warren’s stance towards the 15-week abortion restriction was “tantamount to a veto of state law,” Levesque argued.