Florida AG Faces Contempt For Defying Federal Judge

Politico reports:

A federal judge seemed wary of arguments during a Thursday court hearing that state Attorney General James Uthmeier, an appointee of Gov. Ron DeSantis, hadn’t tried to undermine her court order blocking a Florida immigration law.

Yet U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said she would take the defense of Uthmeier’s attorney, Jesse Panuccio, into consideration and review a past court case outlining the standards for potentially holding Uthmeier in contempt. She promised to issue a ruling soon — one that could result in Uthmeier receiving a fine or jail time if she does determine he’s in contempt.

Thursday’s nearly two-hour hearing centered on a memo Uthmeier sent on April 23 — a few weeks after Williams’ hold — that disagreed with the ruling and argued “no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida’s new illegal entry and reentry laws.” The ACLU said those comments indicated Uthmeier was telling law enforcement officials to disobey the judge’s order and arrest people anyway.

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