The abortion battle has moved to your local court

A federal judge in Florida is soon expected to rule on whether Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) violated the First Amendment and abused his power when he overruled the will of voters and suspended Andrew Warren — the twice-elected state prosecutor of Tampa — for vowing that neither he nor his office would prosecute abortion cases.

The case sets the stage for an epic battle between state and local power — with doctors, patients and criminal defendants caught in the crosshairs.

Unfortunately, DeSantis’s move is not just a Florida problem or even a political anomaly. It is part of a growing string of attacks on local prosecutors for using their discretion in ways state leaders disagree with. We’ve recently seen this playbook in other states — and it heralds a dangerous new era.