{"id":2345,"date":"2026-06-26T22:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T22:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2345"},"modified":"2026-06-26T22:01:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T22:01:47","slug":"can-desantis-ag-uthmeier-get-a-miami-judge-impeached-heres-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2345","title":{"rendered":"Can DeSantis\u2019 AG Uthmeier get a Miami judge impeached? Here\u2019s what to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The urging by Florida\u2019s attorney general to impeach a Miami judge \u2014 after he found a mother who drowned her 1-year-old daughter in a bathtub not guilty by reason of insanity \u2014 is only grandstanding, said Andrew Berman, a legal ethics expert and an appellate attorney of four decades.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2343\">Colombia fans back in Miami after gate crashing. Has stadium security changed?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrandstanding by a political official is dangerous. It would set a horrible precedent to attack judges for their decisions,\u201d Berman told the Miami Herald. \u201cThat is what appellate courts are for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a Thursday post on X, referenced Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Miguel de la O\u2019s ruling, saying his office \u201cwill be drafting articles of impeachment, and we look forward to working with all legislators who will support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: Florida AG wants impeachment of judge who found a mom not guilty due to insanity<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>This week, the judge found that Precious Bland, 43, did not understand the nature of her actions when she killed her daughter, saying there was \u201czero credible explanation other than her psychotic state.\u201d De la O also said he did not see a reason to commit Bland to a mental institution.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Bland waived her right to a jury trial, instead opting to have the judge determine whether she should be convicted of aggravated manslaughter and attempted murder. The defense argued that Bland had a psychotic episode due to a COVID infection.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Berman pointed out that de la O is one of the most respected judges in the state, adding that critics can \u201cquarrel with his decision but not quarrel with his impartiality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Impeaching a judge is rare \u2014 and unlikely to succeed, Berman said. State officials can call for a judge to be impeached, but only the Legislature has the power to remove a judge after a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Florida judge has not been the subject of impeachment proceedings in more than six decades. Allegations of judicial misconduct are typically investigated by the Judicial Qualifications Commission, an independent state agency. Any disciplinary measures are meted out by the Florida Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But the governor\u2019s office has not shied away from removing state officials who disagree with him.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Gov. Ron DeSantis removed Orlando-area State Attorney Monique Worrell and Tampa-area State Attorney Andrew Warren after accusing Worrell of being too lenient and Warren of refusing to enforce abortion restrictions. (Both top prosecutors unsuccessfully challenged their suspensions in court, although Worrell was ultimately re-elected.)<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2342\">\u2018Failure by every measure\u2019: Advocates demand accountability for Alligator Alcatraz<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The governor can suspend state attorneys and other state officers who are not subject to impeachment, but he does not have that same power over judges.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Uthmeier was sanctioned by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams for violating her restraining order on enforcing a Florida immigration law that criminalizes undocumented immigrants when they enter the state. Uthmeier had written a letter to police agencies in April telling them \u201cthere remains no judicial order that properly restrains you from\u201d making arrests under Florida\u2019s immigration law and said he would not tell law-enforcement agencies to obey her court order.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Responding to the attorney general\u2019s announcement, attorney Larry Handfield, who is representing Bland, told reporters the judge was following the law and anyone reacting to the verdict without following the trial was jumping to conclusions.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce you know the facts, it was clear that conduct was not the person, the life she lived for 43 years,\u201d Handfield said. The killing, the attorney said, stood in stark contrast to his client, who was a decorated Navy officer who served in Iraq and was part of a security detail for then-President George W. Bush.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: Mom: COVID made me drown 1-year-old daughter in tub. Judge says she\u2019s not guilty<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The killing occurred on Aug. 23, 2021, at the home where Bland, her husband, Evan Bland, and their six children lived on the 3000 block of Northwest 99th Street. There, deputies discovered that Bland had drowned her daughter Emii in a bathtub, according to an arrest report.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Emii was found face down inside the bathtub, which was filled with bloody water, investigators say.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Bland\u2019s husband tried to stop her, and a struggle ensued. Precious Bland asked their teenage daughter to get a knife, and the daughter told deputies that she \u201cdidn\u2019t know why [Bland] wanted a knife, but she complied.\u201d With that knife, Bland stabbed her husband in the head and neck \u2014 and, afterward, sliced her teenage daughter in the forearm as the teen tried to get Emii from Bland, the report says.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>When deputies arrived, Evan Bland told them his wife \u201cwas upset, stating that Jesus Christ is coming and COVID is going to kill us all,\u201d according to the report. Evan Bland said his wife insisted that everyone in the home needed to be baptized in the bathtub.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=2340\">Drake facing backlash over new song. His apology tour is hitting Miami<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida attorney general calls for ouster of Miami judge for his not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict. Legal ethics expert says it\u2019s a &quot;horrible precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florida-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Can DeSantis\u2019 AG Uthmeier get a Miami judge impeached? 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