Florida Lawyer Normal James Uthmeier bloody effectively understands the Supremacy Clause. This asshole graduated from Georgetown Regulation — and never that way back! The query now could be whether or not he’s so dedicated to pretending to be an fool that he’s prepared to get held in contempt of court docket.
The “bother” began when Governor Ron DeSantis (HLS 2005) signed a invoice purporting to enact a state-specific immigration regime. Particularly, Florida Senate Bill 4-C presupposed to criminalize “unlawful entry by grownup unauthorized alien into this state,” with escalating penalties for “unlawful reentry.” The Supreme Court docket has repeatedly held that states are preempted from crafting competing immigration schemes underneath the Supremacy Clause. Certainly, an identical legislation was enjoined final yr by Choose Roy Altman, a Trump appointee. And so it’s hardly shocking that this yr’s model acquired blocked, too, this time by Choose Kathleen Williams, who was named to the bench by Obama.
However AG Uthmeier was pondering exterior the field! See, the plaintiffs solely sued him and the States Attorneys in Florida’s 20 Judicial Circuits. They failed to call each county cop driving a cruiser up and down 95. And so … perhaps Officer Swampbritches isn’t sure by the court docket’s order???
On April 23, after the court docket had entered a TRO however earlier than it entered the PI, AG Florida Man despatched a letter to state legislation enforcement businesses. In it, he inspired them to proceed making arrests underneath the enjoined legislation, even when prosecutors had been all barred from charging anybody underneath it:
I can not stop you from imposing §§ 811.102 and 811.103, the place there stays no judicial order that correctly restrains you from doing so. As set forth within the transient my workplace filed at this time it’s my view that no lawful, authentic order at present impedes your businesses from persevering with to implement Florida’s new unlawful entry and reentry legal guidelines.
Three days later, the plaintiffs, a coalition of immigrants’ rights teams, made the court docket conscious of “this obvious effort to undermine the Court docket’s order” in a supplemental brief. Choose Williams demanded that Uthmeier clarify himself, which he did on Could 12, with an help from three attorneys from Boies Schiller. They insist that their shopper didn’t violate the court docket’s order, as a result of it was solely within the PI that she “expanded” it to incorporate events not named.
This place is slightly undercut by a letter Uthmeier despatched on April 18, noting that the choose “clarified verbally that her order covers all legislation enforcement officers within the State of Florida.” However, the good Boies boys had a solution for that one, too. And it’s HAVEN’T YOU HEARD OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT?
“[C]ommenting a couple of legislation—even strongly, and even in legally related methods—doesn’t implement the legislation,” the insist, including that “The Lawyer Normal didn’t direct legislation enforcement officers to do something. Nor did he compel legislation enforcement officers to do something. Moderately, he defined his ‘view … [a]s set forth within the transient [his] workplace filed.’ That isn’t enforcement.”
It’s a daring technique, Cotton! Significantly since Uthmeier flapped his yap throughout native TV, vowing that “I’m not going to rubber stamp her order. … I’m not going to ask legislation enforcement to face down.”
The matter got here to a head yesterday in court docket, throughout a fiery present trigger listening to.
“That’s Mr. Uthmeier saying what he meant,” Choose Williams stated, in line with the Miami Herald.
Politico stories that Uthmeier’s counsel urged the choose not to think about the AG’s out of court docket statements, which went over like a lead balloon.
““You’re inviting me to think about context and I’m contemplating context,” she shot again.
The court docket took the matter of contempt underneath advisement.
TL, DR: GULC, COME GET YOUR BOY!
Florida Immigrant Coalition v. Uthmeier [Docket via Court Listener]
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore the place she produces the Regulation and Chaos substack and podcast.
