TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate a Florida prosecutor who was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis after making comments opposing prosecutions for abortions or gender-affirming health care.

The state's highest court ruled that Andrew Warren had waited too long to file a petition.

In a 6-1 decision, Florida's highest court rejected the petition brought by Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Florida’s Hillsborough County in the Tampa area. Warren claimed that DeSantis had misused his power.

The Republican governor last year suspended Warren, accusing him of neglect of duty and incompetence, after the Democratic state attorney signed statements, along with other prosecutors across the country, opposing criminal charges against abortion providers, or women seeking abortions. He also said he wouldn't prosecute people for providing gender affirming health care, and his office's policies didn't charge people with some minor crimes.

Florida had a 15-week abortion ban at the time, and DeSantis earlier this year signed into law a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. DeSantis also championed legislation that banned transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, but a federal judge earlier this month blocked portions of the new law.

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

Warren also challenged his removal in federal court, where he said that DeSantis punished him for being a dissenting voice, violating his constitutional right to free speech, and nullifying the election that brought Warren to office. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, in dismissing Warren’s lawsuit in January, wrote that federal law prevents him from returning the prosecutor to office. Warren has appealed that decision.

In its ruling, Florida’s highest court left open the possibility that the case could be reconsidered if a rehearing motion is filed and suggested that Warren could take his case before the Republican-dominated Senate.

But the ruling noted that Warren chose to take his case to federal court first instead of state court, and that there was a six-month gap between his suspension and when he filed his petition. The Florida Supreme Court could deny the petition not only based on the merits of the case but for other reasons, such “a petitioner who unreasonably delays filing a petition,” the ruling said.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Jorge Labarga noted that Warren had been elected twice by voters in the Tampa area.

“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.

After the decision, Warren accused the Florida Supreme Court of using a technicality to sidestep the merits of his case.

“This is an issue that is crucial for democracy in Florida," he said in a statement. "Rather than addressing the substance of the governor’s illegal action, the Court cited a technicality and avoided a ruling on the merits of the case. We are extremely disappointed by today’s decision.”

Warren's office issued a further statement, which noted that the appeal in his federal case is ongoing:

With today’s opinion, the Florida Supreme Court is stating that it will not hear Warren’s case in state court. His case in federal court is still ongoing — a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected in the future.

DeSantis suspended Warren, the twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County/Tampa, on August 4, 2022. In January, following a three-day trial last November, federal Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that DeSantis violated both the Florida and U.S. Constitutions by suspending Warren for politically motivated reasons and for publicity.

“The record includes not a hint of misconduct by Mr. Warren,” Hinkle wrote. However, Judge Hinkle stated he did not have the authority to reinstate Warren. Warren’s ongoing federal appeal focuses on whether a federal court does have such authority where there are violations of both federal and state law. A three-judge panel heard Warren’s federal appeal in court on May 2, 2023; a ruling is expected in the future.