Judge sides with DeSantis, says governor won’t have to testify in suit brought by prosecutor

A federal judge this week ruled that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will not have to testify in a lawsuit brought against him by a prosecutor he dismissed over the summer.

DeSantis made headlines in August when he fired State Attorney Andrew Warren after the latter indicated he would not enforce laws prohibiting sex-change operations for minors. "State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said at the time. 

Warren subsequently brought suit against DeSantis over the firing. It was unclear if DeSantis himself would be called up to testify during the proceedings. But this week U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the governor would not be called as part of the suit. 

Hinkle made the ruling after Warren’s lawyers indicated that they would not call the governor to testify during the trial, according to media reports. 

The proceedings are scheduled to begin next week.