Andrew Howard Warren (born 1977) is an American prosecutor and politician who has been the state attorney for Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County since 2017. In August 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Warren. On June 22, 2023 the Florida State Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by Warren challenging his dismissal. In early 2024, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that DeSantis violated Warren's First Amendment rights and sent the case back, assuring the original judge he had the authority to reinstate the state attorney. Warren was previously a federal prosecutor in the fraud division at the United States Department of Justice.
Andrew Warren | |
|---|---|
 | |
| State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit of Florida | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2017 Suspended: August 4, 2022 – present | |
| Preceded by | Mark Ober |
| Succeeded by | Susan Lopez (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Howard Warren January 1, 1977 Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Brandeis University (BA) Columbia University (JD) |
Early life edit
Andrew Howard Warren was born in 1977 in Gainesville, Florida.[1] He has a younger sister and two older brothers.[1] His father, originally from Boston, moved in the 1970s to teach at the University of Florida.[1] Warren played baseball and soccer at Eastside High School.[1] He attended Brandeis University where he studied political science and economics.[1] He studied abroad his junior year at the London School of Economics. Warren graduated from the Columbia Law School in 2002.[1][2] He was admitted to The Florida Bar on July 10, 2003.[2]
Career edit
Warren clerked for U.S. district judge, Samuel Conti.[1] He worked for Latham & Watkins before joining the United States Department of Justice where he worked in the fraud section under Paul Pelletier.[1] In 2009, he helped prosecute Texas financer Allen Stanford alongside Gregg Costa and William Stellmach.[1]
In November 2016, Democrat Warren defeated incumbent Republican prosecutor Mark Ober 50.4 to 49.6 percent to become the state attorney of Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County.[3][4] He campaigned as a progressive prosecutor focused on public safety, fairness and justice.[3][5] Warren claims that criminal justice reform is needed to maximize long-term public safety by focusing on all the goals of the system: accountability and punishment, reducing recidivism, rehabilitation, and victims' rights.[6][3][7] He took office on January 3, 2017.[4] In 2018, Warren established a conviction review unit.[8] Through working with the Innocence Project, the unit led to the exoneration of Robert DuBoise who was imprisoned for 37 years.[8] In April 2020, he prosecuted a megachurch pastor for violating COVID-19 lockdown requirements.[8] Warren dropped the charges after governor Ron DeSantis passed an executive order.[8] In 2020, he was reelected by 53 percent to a second four-year term.[9]
In June 2022, he signed a statement with other prosecutors in opposition to prosecuting individuals who sought or provided abortions.[9] Citing this statement, Gov. DeSantis suspended Warren on August 4, 2022.[10] County Judge Susan Lopez was appointed by DeSantis as acting state attorney.[11] In January 2023, Federal Judge Robert Hinkle found that DeSantis had violated Warren's first amendment rights and the Constitution of Florida.[9] Hinkle stated that the federal courts lacked the authority to reinstate Warren as it is a state law issue.[12] In February 2023, Warren appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.[13][14][15] Meanwhile, in June 2023, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Warren had engaged in an unreasonable delay in requesting their help, and therefore decided not to address the merits of his case.[16]
In January 2024 the three-judge panel of the conservative 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Andrew Warren and scolded the governor for punishing Warren for purely partisan reasons. They stated that Hinkle does have the authority to reinstate Warren and sent the case back for review, giving DeSantis an opportunity to provide justification for the suspension without violating Warren's rights under the first amendment.[17] Warren has one year remaining in his term, and filed a motion for a speedy response from Hinkle which was granted, despite opposition from DeSantis' lawyers.[18]
Personal life edit
Warren met Alexandra Coler on his first day at Brandeis University.[1] They parted ways before marrying in 2006 in Philadelphia.[1] On August 4, 2009, his wife was in a car accident while she was eight months pregnant.[1] His son, Zack, died shortly after birth.[1] They later had two daughters.[1]
Electoral history edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew H. Warren | 288,883 | 50.44 | |||
| Republican | Mark Ober (incumbent) | 283,843 | 49.56 | |||
| Total votes | 572,726 | 100.0 | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrew H. Warren (incumbent) | 369,129 | 53.37 | |
| Republican | Mike Perotti | 322,506 | 46.63 | |
| Total votes | 691,635 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sullivan, Dan (November 10, 2020). "Who is this guy? How Andrew Warren became the face of criminal justice in Tampa". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ a b "Lawyer Directory – The Florida Bar". Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ a b c Sullivan, Dan (November 9, 2016). "Andrew Warren narrowly defeats Mark Ober in race for Hillsborough State Attorney". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ a b "Andrew H. Warren, State Attorney of Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County | Economic Club of Tampa". Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Fernandes, Brian (2021-10-21). "State Attorney details crime prevention". Plant City Observer. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Prosecutors Condemn 'Myopic' Approach to Punishment". The Crime Report. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ Chammah, Maurice (2016-10-18). "New Strategy for Justice Reform: Vote Out the DA". The Marshall Project. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Kirby; Sullivan, Dan (August 4, 2022). "Who is Andrew Warren? Meet the Tampa prosecutor Ron DeSantis just removed". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ a b c Berzon, Alexandra; Bensinger, Ken (2023-03-11). "Inside Ron DeSantis's Politicized Removal of an Elected Prosecutor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Glorioso, Alexandra; Mazzei, Patricia (2022-11-29). "Judge Will Decide Whether DeSantis Went Too Far in Ousting Prosecutor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Sullivan, Dan (August 8, 2022). "New Hillsborough state attorney reverses some of Andrew Warren's policies". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Mazzei, Patricia; Glorioso, Alexandra (2023-01-20). "Judge Rules DeSantis Was Wrong, but Lets Prosecutor's Suspension Stand". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Naham, Matt (2023-03-09). "Appeals court showdown between Gov. Ron DeSantis and prosecutor he ousted will happen even sooner". Law & Crime. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Ebert, Alex (February 16, 2023). "Prosecutor DeSantis Axed Over Abortion Sues in State High Court". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Minsky, David (February 14, 2023). "Ousted Fla. Prosecutor Appeals To 11th Circ. To Get Job Back - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Mower, Lawrence. “Florida Supreme Court rejects Andrew Warren case”, Tampa Bay Times (June 22, 2023).
- ^ Rohrer, Gray. "Appeals court bashes Gov. DeSantis' Andrew Warren suspension". Florida Politics. Extensive-Enterprises 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ Sullivan, Dan. "What's next for ousted Tampa state attorney after favorable court ruling?". Tampabay.com. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Summary Results - Election Night Reporting". enr.electionsfl.org. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ "Summary Results - Election Night Reporting". enr.electionsfl.org. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
