TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate a Florida prosecutor who was eliminated by Gov. Ron DeSantis after making feedback opposing prosecutions for abortions or gender-affirming well being care.

The state’s highest court docket dominated that Andrew Warren had waited too lengthy to file a petition.

In a 6-1 choice, Florida’s highest court docket rejected the petition introduced by Warren, a twice-elected state lawyer for Florida’s Hillsborough County within the Tampa space. Warren claimed that DeSantis had misused his energy.

The Republican governor final yr suspended Warren, accusing him of neglect of obligation and incompetence, after the Democratic state lawyer signed statements, together with different prosecutors throughout the nation, opposing prison prices in opposition to abortion suppliers, or ladies in search of abortions. He additionally stated he wouldn’t prosecute individuals for offering gender-affirming well being care, and his workplace’s insurance policies didn’t cost individuals with some minor crimes.

Florida had a 15-week abortion ban on the time, and DeSantis earlier this yr signed into legislation a ban on abortions after six weeks of being pregnant. DeSantis additionally championed laws that banned transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, however a federal decide earlier this month blocked parts of the brand new legislation.

DeSantis this spring launched a marketing campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

Warren additionally challenged his removing in federal court docket, the place he stated that DeSantis punished him for being a dissenting voice, violating his constitutional proper to free speech, and nullifying the election that introduced Warren to workplace. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, in dismissing Warren’s lawsuit in January, wrote that federal legislation prevents him from returning the prosecutor to workplace. Warren has appealed that call.

In its ruling, Florida’s highest court docket left open the likelihood that the case could possibly be reconsidered if a rehearing movement is filed and urged that Warren might take his case earlier than the Republican-dominated Senate.

But the ruling famous that Warren selected to take his case to federal court docket first as an alternative of state court docket, and that there was a six-month hole between his suspension and when he filed his petition. The Florida Supreme Court might deny the petition not solely based mostly on the deserves of the case however for different causes, such “a petitioner who unreasonably delays filing a petition,” the ruling stated.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Jorge Labarga famous that Warren had been elected twice by voters within the Tampa space.

“Given that this case involves the suspension of a then-sitting elected official - for whom a substantial portion of the term yet remains - I am unpersuaded by the majority’s conclusion that Warren’s petition is properly denied on the ground of unreasonable delay,” Labarga wrote.

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