TALLAHASSEE – A Leon County circuit judge has turned down subpoenas that sought to pressure two leading aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis to testify in a community-records lawsuit stemming from controversial flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Choose J. Lee Marsh issued a two-webpage final decision Sunday that quashed subpoenas the Florida Middle for Governing administration Accountability had issued to DeSantis Chief of Staff members James Uthmeier and Larry Keefe, a general public-basic safety adviser to the governor. Marsh also shielded Chris DeLorenz, a records custodian in the governor’s office environment, from testifying.
Marsh ruled soon after the DeSantis administration filed a motion late Thursday trying to find to block the subpoenas, which had been issued by the Florida Heart for Authorities Accountability. The subpoenas sought to force testimony in a hearing Tuesday in the community-information lawsuit submitted versus the administration by the middle, an open up-government team.
The ruling agreed with DeSantis administration arguments that Uthmeier and Keefe should not be needed to testify due to the fact of what is known as the “apex doctrine,” a authorized principle that commonly shields substantial-position officials from testifying if information can be attained in other approaches. Marsh wrote that the administration presented “declarations detailing that Mr. Uthmeier and Mr. Keefe absence distinctive, private understanding of the concerns remaining litigated.”
“In addition, the courtroom finds that plaintiff has not achieved its burden since taking the testimony of Mr. Keefe and Mr. Uthmeier is not necessary for this community documents lawsuit,” Marsh wrote.
Also, Marsh wrote that the subpoena for DeLorenz was “an annoyance, oppressive and an undue load” below a authorized rule.
“The court will not set the precedent that EOG’s (the Govt Place of work of the Governor’s) data custodian might be haled into courtroom devoid of a excellent religion foundation to contest his declaration,” wrote Marsh, who held an emergency listening to Friday on the motion to quash the subpoenas.
The Florida Heart for Govt Accountability filed the lawsuit Oct. 10 and alleged that the governor’s office environment did not comply with requests to launch a collection of records about the flights, which carried about 50 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts and drew countrywide interest. The center issued subpoenas past 7 days.
The lawsuit, in element, sought documents, phone logs or textual content logs that could clearly show communications by Uthmeier about the flights. Also, it sought any data that would show communications with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s business about relocating migrants.
The DeSantis administration unveiled some data, but the center explained in the lawsuit that the launch was not “responsive” to requests produced Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 underneath Florida’s community-records law. Also, Andrea Flynn Mogensen, an attorney for the heart, despatched an email to DeLorenz on Oct. 17 that explained the administration experienced not supplied these kinds of items as a textual content log and a mobile phone log for Uthmeier, according to a doc submitted Friday in the scenario.
“We reviewed the (data) output and did not see any log of text messages despatched or obtained by Mr. Uthmeier,” Mogensen wrote in the Oct. 17 e mail. “If we have overlooked anything be sure to allow us know.”
The center also has filed a independent general public-records lawsuit against the Florida Section of Transportation and Vertol Techniques Enterprise, Inc., which been given a condition agreement to transportation migrants. That lawsuit continues to be pending.
The two flights on Sept. 14 carried migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, with a end at an airport in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview. The DeSantis administration tapped into $12 million that the Legislature delivered to transportation undocumented immigrants. Element of the controversy facilities on Florida traveling migrants from Texas.
Several media studies have said Keefe, a former United States legal professional in North Florida, performed a powering-the-scenes role in the flights. DeSantis, extensively mentioned as a possible 2024 Republican presidential prospect, commonly blasts the Biden administration’s immigration guidelines. He also has criticized “sanctuary” communities, these types of as Martha’s Vineyard.
