Despite his strong criticism of the state’s chief executive, a federal judge on Thursday put off the decision on whether to hold Florida Attorney General James Usmieire in court empt in a politically challenging immigration case.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams found Uthmeier violated a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement of new state laws that would be a crime for immigrants who lack permanent legal status entering Florida after illegally crossing the United States.
At a hearing Thursday, Williams said the Attorney General, who was not present, essentially “advising police agencies to go out and arrest them.”
“How about my orders? Is it inappropriate, illegal, illegal?” Annoyed Williams asked Usmeyer’s lawyer, pointing out that if people don’t follow the law there is “anarchy.”
It appeared to follow her orders when she told Florida Highway Patrol and other police agencies on April 18 that Florida Highway Patrol and other police agencies should refrain from enforcing new laws after learning that Williams had arrested more than dozens of people for illegally entering the state under the new Mismuan Act, including US citizens.
But Williams said he crossed the line five days later when the Attorney General notified those same police agencies that “there are no judicial orders remaining to properly restrain you.”
Uthmeier’s defense attorney Jesse Panuccio, who previously served in top positions in the state and Justice Department under the Republican administration, said the judges focused on the “snippet” of the April 23 letter to police agencies that they don’t need to follow, not the judge’s order.
Panuccio challenged the judge’s claim that the Attorney General violated her restraint order.
“I don’t think this letter is saying – there’s no evidence,” he said. The state police agency added that it has not made any additional arrests since April 18, the date of her second restraining order. “There’s no light empty.”
At Thursday’s hearing, Williams did not indicate when to decide whether to issue contrifying sanctions.
She paraphrased some of his public comments in TV interviews and in Uthmeier’s comments on social media, saying, “I’m not going to push her orders against the rubber… I’m not going to ask law enforcement to stand up.”
“That’s what Usmeyer means,” Williams told his lawyer. “What he’s saying is pretty clear.”
The lawyer representing the immigration group who sued the state in Miami federal court said Usmeyer’s letter was an attempt to “avert and undermine the court’s order.”
“It’s clearly a courtroom light empty,” Cody Woffsey, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, told Williams at the hearing.
Uthmeier, 37, is a Florida native who served as Governor Ron Desantis’ Chief of Staff before appointing the state’s 39th Attorney General in February.
Whether the judge found Usmeyer in the light emptying for his tolerance to arrest the state police agency to arrest the latitudes that arrest immigrants illegally entering Florida in the country remains an open question despite the opposition order. Certainly, there is no precedent for a state attorney general to ignore federal judge orders, rather than the Southern District of Florida.
Usmeyer, who had not appeared in a series of hearings before Williams, could face a fine of up to $1,000 and/or six months of prison time if he spots him by emptiing the courtroom.
But one thing is clear. According to court filings, Uthmeier said he did not violate the judge’s restraining order to suspend immigration law enforcement. Williams’ order “did not prohibit the judge from retaining legal views against the conclusions he reached — it did not prohibit them much more explicitly,” or notify state law enforcement of submissions of a “outline explaining his legal position.”
Attorney General: Law enforcement agencies not appointed in lawsuits
Uthmeier, publicly supported by Desantis, said the judge had no authority to order Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other police agencies to refrain from arresting immigrants in the country illegally upon arrival in the state.
Uthmeier spokesman Jeremy Redfern characterized Williams’ position as “law” by the “Judge of Obama-appointed” social media site X.
President Barack Obama appointed Williams to the Miami Federal Bench in 2010. The US Senate confirmed her the following year.
Plaintiff: The state’s new law is unconstitutional
The showdown between Williams and the state Attorney General’s office came almost a month after the other associations represented by the Florida Immigration Coalition, the Florida Farmers Association and others in early April.
Williams agreed preliminaryly, citing the constitutional superiority clause.
On April 29, Williams banned law enforcement officers and police agencies in all states, including the Florida Highway Patrol, from banning immigrants coming to Florida and missing permanent legal status.
The judge was scheduled for a hearing Thursday after discovering Uthmeier had violated an earlier restraining order in the immigration case.
Last month, Williams said the state attorney general’s order told officers he could arrest them “threw everything out of the bluff” and left them with options other than holding a hearing so that Usmeyer could explain why he wasn’t lightly emptying the restraining order.
“What makes me offend is the person who suggests you don’t have to follow my orders. That’s not legal,” Williams said.
Uthmeier and his attorneys argued that Williams’ restraint and injunctions should only apply to defendants appointed in immigration group cases: state attorney general, statewide prosecutors, and 20 state attorneys in Florida.
