TALLAHASSEE – A Leon County circuit choose has turned down subpoenas that sought to pressure two leading aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis to testify in a general public-data lawsuit stemming from controversial flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Judge J. Lee Marsh issued a two-page selection Sunday that quashed subpoenas the Florida Centre for Federal government Accountability had issued to DeSantis Main of Personnel James Uthmeier and Larry Keefe, a community-basic safety adviser to the governor. Marsh also shielded Chris DeLorenz, a documents custodian in the governor’s business, from testifying.
Marsh ruled after the DeSantis administration filed a movement late Thursday trying to find to block the subpoenas, which were issued by the Florida Middle for Governing administration Accountability. The subpoenas sought to pressure testimony in a listening to Tuesday in the general public-information lawsuit filed against the administration by the center, an open up-governing administration group.
The ruling agreed with DeSantis administration arguments that Uthmeier and Keefe need to not be needed to testify because of what is acknowledged as the “apex doctrine,” a lawful thought that generally shields superior-position officials from testifying if information can be received in other techniques. Marsh wrote that the administration furnished “declarations conveying that Mr. Uthmeier and Mr. Keefe lack special, particular awareness of the difficulties remaining litigated.”
“In addition, the courtroom finds that plaintiff has not met its stress due to the fact having the testimony of Mr. Keefe and Mr. Uthmeier is not required for this public documents lawsuit,” Marsh wrote.
Also, Marsh wrote that the subpoena for DeLorenz was “an annoyance, oppressive and an undue load” beneath a authorized rule.
“The court docket will not set the precedent that EOG’s (the Government Business office of the Governor’s) data custodian may possibly be haled into court docket without the need of a excellent faith basis to contest his declaration,” wrote Marsh, who held an crisis listening to Friday on the motion to quash the subpoenas.
The Florida Centre for Govt Accountability filed the lawsuit Oct. 10 and alleged that the governor’s place of work did not comply with requests to launch a collection of information about the flights, which carried about 50 migrants from Texas to Massachusetts and drew nationwide interest. The center issued subpoenas final week.
The lawsuit, in portion, sought records, phone logs or textual content logs that could display communications by Uthmeier about the flights. Also, it sought any data that would demonstrate communications with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s business about relocating migrants.
The DeSantis administration unveiled some information, but the center stated in the lawsuit that the release was not “responsive” to requests designed Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 less than Florida’s community-records regulation. Also, Andrea Flynn Mogensen, an legal professional for the middle, despatched an e mail to DeLorenz on Oct. 17 that said the administration had not offered such matters as a text log and a cellular phone log for Uthmeier, according to a doc filed Friday in the circumstance.
“We reviewed the (documents) manufacturing and did not see any log of text messages despatched or been given by Mr. Uthmeier,” Mogensen wrote in the Oct. 17 e mail. “If we have disregarded nearly anything please allow us know.”
The centre also has filed a independent general public-records lawsuit towards the Florida Department of Transportation and Vertol Techniques Enterprise, Inc., which obtained a condition agreement to transportation migrants. That lawsuit remains pending.
The two flights on Sept. 14 carried migrants from Texas to Massachusetts, with a end at an airport in the Northwest Florida local community of Crestview. The DeSantis administration tapped into $12 million that the Legislature offered to transportation undocumented immigrants. Portion of the controversy facilities on Florida traveling migrants from Texas.
Numerous media reviews have stated Keefe, a former United States attorney in North Florida, played a powering-the-scenes function in the flights. DeSantis, broadly talked about as a likely 2024 Republican presidential prospect, routinely blasts the Biden administration’s immigration policies. He also has criticized “sanctuary” communities, these as Martha’s Winery.
