Latest news with #JudgeKathleenWilliams
New York Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Supreme Court Won't Revive Aggressive Florida Immigration Law
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to revive an aggressive Florida immigration law that had been blocked by lower courts. The law would let state officials prosecute unauthorized migrants who enter the state. The court's one-sentence order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. There were no noted dissents. The law, adopted by Florida lawmakers this year, created two new crimes. The first, entering the state after eluding federal authorities, called for a mandatory nine-month misdemeanor sentence for a first offense and escalating felony sentences for later ones. The second crime, re-entering the state after having been deported, is a felony. The law requires people arrested on suspicion of violating either provision to be jailed without bond while their cases proceed. Two migrants and immigrations rights groups quickly challenged the law, saying it interfered with the federal government's power to set immigration policy and to conduct foreign affairs. Judge Kathleen M. Williams, of the Federal District Court in Miami, temporarily blocked enforcement of the law. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Florida attorney general in contempt for defying judge's order in immigration case
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was found in civil contempt Tuesday for defying a federal judge's order in an immigration case. In April, Judge Kathleen Williams banned the enforcement of Florida laws that make it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants to enter or re-enter the state while it was being challenged in court by immigrant rights groups. Uthmeier sent out a notice to Florida law enforcement informing them of Williams' order. In the notice, the attorney general said he disagreed with the order, calling it 'both wrong on the merits and overbroad on its scope,' according to court documents obtained by The Independent. He added that his office will 'continue to press these scope-of-relief arguments in the district court and, as appropriate, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.' In a follow-up memo a few days later, Uthmeier said Williams ordered his office to notify the agencies of her injunction, which he did, but in it, he said he 'cannot prevent you from enforcing' the challenged laws. 'It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida's new illegal entry and reentry laws,' he wrote, according to court documents. When the court asked Uthmeier why he shouldn't be held in contempt or sanctioned, he argued he hadn't violated William's order because he did not enforce the challenged laws and he informed law enforcement of the order, court documents reveal. The court also detailed multiple public interviews where Uthmeier shared his reaction to William's order. 'This judge is considering whether or not to hold me in contempt. But I am not going to rubber stamp her order, I'm not going to direct law enforcement to stand down on enforcing the Trump agenda and carrying out Florida's law,' the attorney general said in a May 6 interview. Days later, he said in another interview, 'We do have a judge who is threatening to hold me in contempt because I won't follow an order she has to direct our law enforcement not to enforce a new law we passed earlier this year that says you can't be illegally in the State of Florida.' As part of Williams' new order finding Uthmeier in contempt, he will now have to file bi-weekly reports 'detailing whether any arrests, detentions, or law enforcement actions pursuant to [the challenged laws] have occurred, and if so, how many, when, and by which law enforcement agency.' If the attorney general learns of any arrests related to the laws, he must inform the court 'immediately.'
CBS News
29-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Federal judge allows lawsuit over "excessive heat" at Miami-Dade prison to proceed
A federal judge has rejected a request by Florida corrections officials to dismiss a potential class-action lawsuit alleging the state has violated inmates' rights because of hot conditions at a prison in Miami-Dade County. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Wednesday issued a 30-page ruling that said inmates at Dade Correctional Institution can pursue claims under the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment, the Americans with Disabilities Act and a disabilities-related law known as the Rehabilitation Act. The 8th Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment. Harsh conditions at Dade Correctional Institution Williams' ruling described a prison with a large number of older inmates that does not have air conditioning or adequate ventilation in dormitories or in the dining area. It also detailed heat indexes that often top 100 degrees in South Florida and said inmates are "regularly and consistently exposed to heat indexes within the NWS (National Weather Service) danger zone during the summer months." "Plaintiffs further allege that the issue of excessive heat at Dade CI is exacerbated by insufficient ventilation systems," Williams wrote. "Plaintiffs allege that the ventilation systems in the dormitories, which were installed decades ago, have not been adequately maintained and are missing critical components, such as fans and motors." Lawsuit details and named plaintiffs Attorneys for three inmates filed the lawsuit in October against the state Department of Corrections, Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon and Dade Correctional Institution Warden Francisco Acosta. It seeks class-action status, though Williams has not ruled on that issue. The prison has a capacity of 1,521 inmates. The named plaintiffs are Dwayne Wilson, who was described in the lawsuit as a 66-year-old inmate with hypertension, an enlarged prostate and a burn scar over much of his body that impairs his ability to sweat; Tyrone Harris, a 54-year-old inmate who has conditions such as hypertension and asthma; and Gary Wheeler, a 65-year-old inmate who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. State's defense and judicial rebuttal In a December motion to dismiss the case, the state's attorneys argued, in part, that the 8th Amendment argument "fails because the facts do not give rise to a substantial risk of serious harm to plaintiffs, nor demonstrate that Secretary Dixon or Warden Acosta has been deliberately indifferent to the conditions and risks faced by these (named) plaintiffs in particular." "By itself, the lack of air conditioning does not pose a substantial risk of serious harm. The deprivation required to allege an Eighth Amendment claim must be objectively 'extreme' enough to deny an inmate 'the minimal civilized measure of life's necessities.' The allegations of the complaint (the lawsuit) have not 'cleared this high bar.'" the motion said, partially quoting legal precedents. But Williams wrote that the lawsuit "alleges a wide range of heat related injuries: heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat stroke, and death. Plaintiffs also extensively detail how excessive heat can exacerbate underlying medical conditions, in a facility where over 50 percent of all prisoners are over the age of 50. Finally, plaintiffs allege that, since 2021, extreme heat has contributed to the deaths of at least four individuals at Dade CI." Evidence of known risks She also said that attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote to Acosta in September 2023 "detailing concerns about the extreme heat, lack of ventilation, and the serious threat of medical harm posted to the inmates based on those conditions. The court finds that the allegations plaintiffs raise about the ongoing excessive heat issues at Dade CI easily support the plausible inference that defendants were subjectively aware of the risks of heat-related harms." The Miami-based judge also cited a report published in 2023 by the KPMG consulting firm, which had received a state contract to develop a master plan for the Department of Corrections. "The report concluded that most FDC (Florida Department of Corrections) dormitories, including those at Dade CI, require retrofitting to comply with current ventilation standards, and that over one-third of FDC facilities were assessed to be in 'critical' or 'poor' condition," Williams wrote.
