James Uthmeier
A federal judge has held Florida’s attorney general in civil contempt of a court order that barred the attorney general, state attorneys, police officers and their agents from enforcing a new law criminalizing the entry of undocumented aliens into the state.
The finding by Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida was issued June 17 in the case of Florida Immigrant Coalition, et al. v. James Uthmeier et al. It follows Williams’ decision siding with plaintiffs that put in place a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining defendant Uthmeier and other officers and agents in Florida from enforcing the provisions of Senate Bill 4-C. That measure provides criminal penalties for adult undocumented immigrants who enter, or attempt to enter, Florida.
“The court finds that Uthmeier is in civil contempt of the court’s April 18, 2025, order that defendants shall ‘provide actual notice of the TRO’ to all law enforcement officer(s) with power to enforce (SB) 4-C,” Williams said in her June 17 order.
The Florida Bar reported it has not received any complaints about Uthmeier’s conduct in the wake of the contempt finding. The Florida Bar previously received complaints about the conduct of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is a member of the Florida Bar, but the bar said it would not be able to investigate those claims while Bondi was in office.
“Although active discipline cases are by default confidential, we can confirm or deny cases if details of the complaint are provided,” the Florida Bar’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Krell Davis, told the Florida Record in an email. “Therefore, I can tell you that we do not have any complaints regarding the matter (of the contempt finding against Uthmeier).”
Williams found that Uthmeier had initially complied with the TRO in an April 18 letter he sent to law enforcement officers. But five days later, the attorney general sent a follow-up letter in which he said no judicial order restrains local law enforcement agencies from enforcing SB 4-C.
“As set forth in the brief my office filed (on April 23), it is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida’s new illegal entry and re-entry laws,” Uthmeier’s letter states.
The advice seemed to invalidate the notice to law enforcement officers the attorney previously sent, prompting the need for contempt proceedings, according to Williams’ most recent order. The judge also quoted from several interviews Uthmeier gave after sending his April 23 letter in which he said he would not follow a judicial order directing law enforcement not to enforce the new law.
The state Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment about the ruling.
“Uthmeier is free to broadcast his continued appeal of the court’s injunction and his view that the court’s rulings are erroneous,” Williams said. “However, when instructed to inform law enforcement that they are proscribed from enforcing an enjoined law, he may not tell them otherwise.”
The federal court is now calling on Uthmeier to coordinate with the state attorney defendants and their law enforcement colleagues and to file bi-weekly reports outlining whether any arrests or actions related to SB 4-C have occurred and which agencies were responsible for them. The first such report is due on July 1.
According to the Florida Bar, complaints it receives about the conduct of constitutional officers who are required to be bar members will be started within six years of the date they vacate their positions.
