TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Days after asking The Florida Bar to consider sanctioning an attorney who made national headlines by dressing as the Grim Reaper to criticize Gov. DeSantis appeared just two days after I launched a (political) committee to remove Ron DeSantis,” Uhlfelder said during the interview, referring to what is dubbed the Remove Ron political committee. “I’ve been involved in the attorney disciplinary system in Florida for 35 years, and I can’t even remember when I’ve seen this rule utilized,” he said. DeSantis issued a “safer at home” order but refused to close beaches statewide, though some local governments temporarily imposed beach closures. Carroll in April ruled against Uhlfelder, saying the state Constitution gives the governor discretion about handling emergencies.

An inner-party survey is already asking Democrats who they favor to take on Republican Gov. The survey was sent to Florida Democrats via email last week. “Sure, Crist is well known, but things have changed,” said retired University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus. Despite former President Donald Trump winning Florida handily in the 2020 presidential election with DeSantis’ help, MacManus argues Florida is still a swing state. “It’s just that Democrats did not run a very good campaign in the presidential contest,” MacManus said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An appeals court wants The Florida Bar to consider taking action against a Panhandle attorney who pursued a high-profile case seeking to force Gov. “Appellant (Uhlfelder) and his counsel undoubtedly used this court merely as a stage from which to act out their version of political theater. AdDeSantis issued a “safer at home” order but refused to close beaches statewide, though some local governments temporarily imposed beach closures. Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll in April ruled against Uhlfelder, saying the state Constitution gives the governor discretion about handling emergencies. In the order Friday, the appeals-court panel referred the issue to the Bar “for its consideration of whether Appellant and his counsel violated the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A spokesman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has deactivated his Twitter account after after he posted a tweet that photos of each dead COVID-19 victim should be balanced with 99 photos of people who survive the disease. Otherwise you’re just trying to create a narrative that is not reality.”The tweet has since been deleted. In the past, Piccolo has questioned the effectiveness of face mask mandates and has said that COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu. Piccolo told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday he had already planned to leave the social media site.

Ron DeSantis will be able to weigh in about whether a Northwest Florida attorney should face sanctions for filing an appeal in a lawsuit aimed at closing beaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 1st District Court of Appeal on Wednesday issued an order allowing DeSantis to reply to arguments by Santa Rosa Beach attorney Daniel Uhlfelder, who contends that his appeal was not frivolous or filed in bad faith. Uhlfelder filed the lawsuit this spring to try to force DeSantis to close beaches statewide to prevent the spread of the disease. Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll in April ruled against Uhlfelder, spurring an appeal. In a 19-page response last Friday, Uhlfelder and lawyers Gautier Kitchen and Marie Mattox cited comments that Carroll made in April when he ruled against Uhlfelder.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Saying that a lower-court judge “plainly encouraged” an appeal, a Northwest Florida attorney is disputing that his decision to continue pursuing a case against Gov. Ron DeSantis over COVID-19 beach closures was frivolous or in bad faith. DeSantis issued a “safer at home” order but refused to close beaches statewide, though some local governments temporarily imposed beach closures. In ruling against Uhlfelder in April, Carroll said the state Constitution gives the governor discretion about handling emergencies. To argue otherwise on appeal was to present a substantial question for the (appeals) court’s consideration and decision.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Raising questions about whether the case was “frivolous” or filed in “bad faith,” an appeals court Friday rejected a Northwest Florida attorney’s lawsuit that sought to force Gov. He acknowledged that Friday’s order was “unusual” and said he would respond to the appeals court within the allotted time frame. “I don’t think it’s frivolous or in bad faith,” he told The News Service of Florida in a phone interview Friday evening. In ruling against Uhlfelder in April, Leon County Circuit Judge Kevin Carroll said the state Constitution gives the governor discretion about handling emergencies. In a July brief at the Tallahassee-based appeals court, Uhlfelder disputed that the separation of powers should lead to dismissal of the case.

Walton County, Florida – Most Floridians hitting the newly reopened beaches are trading stay-at-home sweatpants for shorts and swimsuits. Uhlfelder, an attorney, is haunting Florida beaches dressed as the Grim Reaper to protest their reopening, which he believes is premature. But if we don’t take measures to control things, this virus is going to get really, really out of control,” he warned. Scythe in hand, he traveled to beaches around Walton County, Florida, that have reopened ahead of the state’s planned May 4 reopening. Phase One of the reopening allows restaurants and retailers to open at 25% capacity.