The gun lobby pays a whole lot of money to its lawyers, but James Uthmeier is a bargain. He’s free — pro bono, as lawyers would say.

Trouble is, he works for us — not the gun lobby. Uthmeier is currently being paid to fill the vacant attorney general position. His office alone represents the state in criminal appeals, where he’s expected to defend the laws of the state.

He shouldn’t be asking courts to throw out laws he doesn’t like. He shouldn’t be meddling in criminal cases where his interference can strike a crippling blow to the progress of a homicide prosecution.

Three strikes in a row

Most recently, he’s refused to defend Florida’s concealed-carry law in the case of a Broward teenager.

Last year, he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Florida’s law against 18-to-20-year olds buying rifles. The Legislature passed that law after a 19-year-old with an assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition shot 34 people and killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Saturday, Valentine’s Day, was the eighth anniversary of that horrific tragedy. How easily some people forget.

The high court has shown no interest in taking up the Florida ban, which the National Rifle Association appealed last year after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld it. But the NRA’s petition, and Uthmeier’s shocking brief, remain on the docket.

Uthmeier claims that he made open carry of weapons legal statewide last year by refusing to appeal a First District Court of Appeal (DCA) decision overturning the law against it.

The gun lobby had been unable to get that even from Florida’s reliably gun-friendly state Legislature. Uthmeier gave it to them all by himself simply by accepting a bad decision from one of Florida’s most political courts. The kicker? There’s no real precedent saying that the attorney general has that kind of life-or-death power over the law.

He keeps pushing

Now he wants the Fourth District Court of Appeal to overturn the Broward conviction of Jaylen Eubanks, charged in 2024 as an 18-year-old with carrying a concealed weapon and with improperly exhibiting it.

Uthmeier wants the law ruled unconstitutional as it applies to 18-to-20-year-olds. At the time, his brief says, “Eubanks had no legal means of publicly carrying a firearm for self-defense.” His brief implies that the entire law would be unconstitutional if Floridians couldn’t carry firearms openly.

Eubanks pleaded no contest, which preserved his right to challenge the law. Circuit Judge Lorena Mastrarrigo upheld it and sentenced Eubanks to probation. Later, in a different case, Circuit Judge Frank Ledee ruled against the law, but Eubanks’ appeal is the first case to reach an appellate court.

Uthmeier isn’t simply taking Eubanks’ side.

Silencing a prosecutor

He has also outrageously forbidden Harold Pryor, the elected state attorney for Broward, from contesting the appeal. Pryor, whose office prosecuted Eubanks, has asked the 4th DCA to let him file a friend-of-the court brief, but Uthmeier and Eubanks’ public defender oppose that, too.
In a statement, Pryor noted “the impact of gun crimes in Florida,” including Parkland.

Even if the court allows Pryor to file — which it absolutely should — it would be difficult for the court to uphold the law with no one officially defending it.

A decision for Eubanks and Uthmeier might also effectively nullify the post-Parkland law against persons under 21 buying rifles and frustrate enforcement of the longstanding federal law prohibiting their purchase of handguns.

As Pryor points out, it’s his office that is carrying out the intent of the Legislature, and it’s Uthmeier whose “concession prevents legitimate arguments from being presented.”

In Tallahassee, the House has, for a fourth time, passed a bill (HB 133) to repeal the youth purchase ban, but there’s still no sign of interest by the Senate. The 74-37 pro-gun vote in the House suggests there’s no point trying to impeach Uthmeier, although he deserves it.

A DeSantis hatchet man

Uthmeier was chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis before being appointed attorney general to replace Ashley Moody, another gun lobby shill whom DeSantis sent to the U.S. Senate, replacing Marco Rubio.

As the governor’s hatchet man, Uthmeier was deeply involved in the suspensions of two elected Democratic state attorneys, Andrew Warren in Tampa and Monique Worrell in Orlando, on trumped-up charges of insufficient prosecutions.

Uthmeier is still hounding Worrell, who was re-elected overwhelmingly. He says she abuses her discretion, and has threatened to have DeSantis suspend her again. We believe his outrage is as phony as his claims: Worrell has always acted within the boundaries of her own prosecutorial discretion, something that can’t be said for Uthmeier.

What Worrell has never done, however, is to dispute the constitutionality of a single law that she’s supposed to enforce. Uthmeier’s hypocrisy is stupendous.

There’s obviously no daylight between DeSantis and the attorney general, who should be independent. His office is one of three in the elected Cabinet, which is supposed to be a check on the governor’s power. But DeSantis has appointed two of the three (also including Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia).

In the meantime, an election is approaching. Uthmeier’s faithlessness to all of the laws of this state is a significant issue for voters to consider.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board includes Executive Editor Roger Simmons, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant, Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney and editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman. Send letters to insight@orlandosentinel.com.