Can a Florida chief judge ban state attorneys and their investigators from carrying firearms in the courtroom?

Plain-English summary

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier ruled that a chief judge cannot use an administrative order to ban state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and their investigators from carrying firearms in the courtroom while on duty.

The opinion responded to a request from Ed Brodsky, the State Attorney for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, after the Twelfth Circuit's chief judge issued Administrative Order 2025-03.2 (later amended to 2025-03a.2) requiring prosecutors and their investigators to lock their firearms outside any courtroom, judge's chambers, or court administration office.

The AG concluded the order conflicts with Florida statute. Section 790.001 defines state attorneys, assistants, and investigators as "law enforcement officers." Section 790.051 then exempts law enforcement officers from Chapter 790's licensing and penal restrictions "when acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties." That exemption includes the rule in § 790.06(12) that lets judges control firearms in their courtrooms — that judicial authority reaches "any person" but not law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty.

While judges have inherent authority over courthouse security, that power can't override an express statute.

What this means for you

If you are a state attorney, assistant state attorney, or prosecutor's investigator

You retain the statutory right to carry your firearm in courtrooms, judge's chambers, court administration offices, and hearing rooms when you are on duty and acting within the scope of your official duties. An administrative order that says otherwise is, in the AG's view, contrary to Florida law. You may want to:

• Work with your office's leadership before relying on this opinion to ignore a local administrative order — AG opinions are persuasive, not binding.
• Document any threats or incidents that justify the need to carry on duty.
• Coordinate with the chief judge to revisit the order in light of this opinion.

If you are a chief judge or court administrator

This opinion challenges any administrative order that flatly prohibits prosecutors and their investigators from carrying firearms inside courtrooms. The AG's position: while you can regulate firearms broadly under § 790.06(12), you cannot extend that regulation to law enforcement officers exempted by § 790.051. Before issuing or maintaining a similar order:

• Cabin the prohibition to "any person other than law enforcement officers acting in the scope of their official duties."
• Distinguish between off-duty use (which you can regulate like anyone else) and on-duty carriage (which the statute protects).
• Be aware that Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b) is not viewed as authority to amend a statute.

If you are a sheriff or judicial security officer

Your protocols for storing or screening firearms at courthouse entrances should distinguish prosecutors and investigators acting in the line of duty from members of the public. The AG opinion implicitly says the same protections that apply to other on-duty law enforcement officers (sheriff's deputies, police, FDLE agents) apply to state attorney's office personnel.

If you are a criminal defense attorney

This opinion does not extend the same right to defense attorneys. The "law enforcement officer" definition in § 790.001 is narrow — it covers state attorneys and their staff, not defense counsel. Be aware your opposing counsel may be armed in the courtroom under this reading; the rules about courtroom decorum and witness safety remain unchanged.

Common questions

Q: Does this opinion override the chief judge's administrative order automatically?
A: No. AG opinions are persuasive authority — they signal how the AG would litigate the issue but do not, by themselves, invalidate a chief judge's administrative order. A formal challenge in court would be required to vacate the order.

Q: Who counts as a "law enforcement officer" under § 790.001?
A: The statute defines law enforcement officers to include "all state attorneys and … their respective assistants and investigators." A prior AG opinion already recognized assistant state attorneys as law enforcement officers for purposes of § 790.051.

Q: Can the chief judge regulate firearms in the courtroom at all?
A: Yes — for the general public and most categories of attorneys. Section 790.06(12)(a)5. expressly contemplates a judge's authority to determine "who [can] carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm in his or her courtroom." That authority just doesn't reach exempted law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty.

Q: Does this apply when the prosecutor is off-duty?
A: No. The exemption in § 790.051 applies only when officers are "acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty." Off-duty carriage is governed by the general concealed-carry rules.

Q: What about state attorneys carrying firearms in other parts of the courthouse — like restrooms, hallways, or law libraries?
A: The opinion focuses on the courtroom prohibition but the same logic applies anywhere in the courthouse: if a prosecutor is on duty and acting within official duties, § 790.051 exempts them from Chapter 790 restrictions, including any administrative order that purports to bar firearms in those areas.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion arises from a tension between Chapter 790 (Florida's firearms code) and the inherent authority of chief judges to manage courthouse operations. Chapter 790 generally restricts where Floridians can carry firearms, with § 790.06(12)(a) listing courtrooms among the prohibited locations. But § 790.051 carves out a sweeping exemption for law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty, and § 790.001 defines that term to include state attorneys, their assistants, and their investigators.

The Twelfth Circuit's Administrative Order 2025-03.2, issued May 6, 2025, and amended September 25, 2025 (after the First DCA's McDaniels decision), banned prosecutor staff from bringing firearms into courtrooms, judge's chambers, court administration offices, or hearing rooms — even in buildings where the State Attorney's Office is co-located. It required firearms to be locked in their offices or in containers near the entrance.

The AG's analysis pivots on a long-standing principle: judicial inherent authority is bounded by "valid existing laws and constitutional provisions." Florida courts have held that an administrative order which "attempts to amend a statute or rule by adding terms and conditions … is invalid because it … exceeds the authority granted under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b)."

Citations and references

Statutes:
- § 16.08, Fla. Stat. (Opinions to state attorneys)
- § 790.001, Fla. Stat. (Definitions)
- § 790.051, Fla. Stat. (Exception)
- § 790.06, Fla. Stat. (Concealed carry license)
- § 790.053, Fla. Stat. (Open carry)

Cases:
- McDaniels v. State, 2025 WL 2608688 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 10, 2025) — invalidated Florida's open carry ban
- Knight v. Chief Judge of Fla.'s Twelfth Jud. Cir., 235 So. 3d 996 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) — chief judge's authority over courthouse security

Original opinion text

Ed Brodsky
Office of the State Attorney, Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Florida
2071 Ringling Boulevard
Sarasota, Florida 34237

Dear Mr. Brodsky:

My office received your letter, dated June 3, 2025, requesting my legal opinion on a question of Florida law. You ask substantially the following question: Whether an Administrative Order by the Chief Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit contravenes Florida law by preventing the state attorney, assistant state attorneys, and investigators with Active Law Enforcement Certification from carrying a firearm into any courtroom while they are on-duty and engaged in the lawful performance of their duties.

In short, my answer is yes. Under Florida law, state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and investigators may carry firearms into courtrooms when they are acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty. Because the Chief Judge's Administrative Order prevents the state attorney, assistant state attorneys, and investigators from carrying a firearm into any courtroom while they are acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty, the Administrative Order entered by the Chief Judge contravened Florida law.

Background

On May 6, 2025, the Chief Judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit published Administrative Order 2025-03.2. This order, in relevant part, issued new rules concerning where the Twelfth Judicial Circuit's State Attorney (Ed Brodsky), assistant state attorneys, and investigators can carry firearms. On September 25, 2025, following the First District Court of Appeal's decision in McDaniels v. State, the Chief Judge entered Administrative Order 2025-03a.2, amending Administrative Order 2025-03.2.

The Order allows "[t]he 12th Circuit State Attorney, assistant state attorneys and investigators employed by the State Attorney … to carry firearms into and out of court facilities where their offices are located in the same court facility." However, the Order fully bars them from carrying "firearms into a judge's chambers, court administration offices, courtrooms or hearing rooms housed in the same building as their office." The Order also requires that "when the firearms are not on the individual's person, those firearms must be housed in a locked desk or other locked container in the individual's office." Furthermore, when the "State Attorney, all 12th Circuit assistant state attorneys, and investigators" enter "into a court facility that does not house State Attorney Offices," they "are required to check and store their firearms in locked containers near the entrance that are approved by the court and managed by Judicial Security." And "[t]he firearms shall be secured, accessed, and retrieved upon conclusion of their official business, according to the rules and procedures established by the Sheriff."

The work of state attorneys is performed closely with law enforcement to ensure public safety. You highlighted that self-defense is important to state attorneys because it is common for state attorneys and their staff to receive threats from criminal defendants and their families and friends. The Florida legislature has recognized the importance of the safety of prosecutors by giving them the right to arm themselves in the course of their official duties.

Analysis

Chapter 790, Florida Statutes, regulates the carrying and licensing of firearms and weapons in the State of Florida. Section 790.06, Florida Statutes, authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue licenses to individuals to carry concealed weapons or concealed firearms. That section identifies several locations where Floridians may not be authorized "to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm." One such location is "[a]ny courtroom." That section further explains that a judge may still determine "who [can] carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm in his or her courtroom."

However, section 790.051, Florida Statutes, provides a broad exemption from Chapter 790. Specifically, section 790.051 exempts "[l]aw enforcement officers ... from the licensing and penal provisions of this chapter when acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty." And section 790.001, Florida Statutes, defines a "law enforcement officer" as: "All state attorneys and … their respective assistants and investigators." My office has previously recognized that assistant state attorneys are law enforcement officers for purposes of section 790.051. Not only are state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and their investigators exempt from Chapter 790's various regulatory restrictions because they are law enforcement officers, that chapter also affords them the affirmative right to "own, possess, and lawfully use firearms … for lawful purposes" when "carrying out official duties."

So, while section 790.06(12)(a)5. empowers judges to deauthorize "any person" from "openly carry[ing] a handgun or carry[ing] a concealed weapon or concealed firearm into any courtroom," law enforcement officers—including state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and investigators—do not fall within the definition of "any person." This is because state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and investigators are exempt from section 790.06(12)(a)—and Chapter 790's licensing and penal provisions, writ large—when acting within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty.

The Chief Judge's Administrative Order therefore proscribes what Chapter 790 explicitly allows. The Order plainly prevents the State Attorney, assistant state attorneys, and investigators (State Attorney Staff) from carrying "firearms into a judge's chambers, court administration offices, courtrooms or hearing rooms housed in the same building as their office." As explained above, state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and investigators are "law enforcement officers" who, under section 790.051, are exempt from Chapter 790's licensing and penal provisions when acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty. Accordingly, the Chief Judge's Administrative Order conflicts with and contravenes Florida law on whether state attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and investigators can carry firearms into a courtroom—not to mention the other court facility locations identified in the Chief Judge's Order.

While true that the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government possesses "inherent power to do all things that are reasonably necessary for the administration of justice within the scope of its jurisdiction," that power is limited by "valid existing laws and constitutional provisions." The judiciary's inherent power unquestionably includes "the power to issue an administrative order directing the security of court facilities," Knight v. Chief Judge of Fla.'s Twelfth Jud. Cir., 235 So. 3d 996, 999 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), but the Supreme Court of the United States has explained that "the exercise of an inherent power cannot be contrary to any express grant of or limitation on the ... court's power contained in a rule or statute." And in Florida, "[i]f a chief judge issues an administrative order which attempts to amend a statute or rule by adding terms and conditions, that administrative order is invalid because it … exceeds the authority granted under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.215(b)." As explained above, the Chief Judge's Administrative Order runs headlong into Chapter 790's contrary provisions. And no other statute, rule, or authority cited in the Order authorizes the Chief Judge's exacting firearm regulation scheme for the State Attorney, assistant state attorneys, and their investigators.

Conclusion

Here, the Chief Judge's Administrative Order clearly conflicts with and attempts to amend Florida law. It prohibits the State Attorney, assistant state attorneys, and investigators from doing what Florida law unequivocally authorizes them to do. They may, per statute, carry firearms when performing official duties. And while section 790.06(12) contemplates a Chief Judge's ability to regulate the carrying of firearms in courthouses and courtrooms, the State Attorney, assistant state attorneys, and investigators plainly fall outside that statute's permissible regulatory sweep. Accordingly, because the Chief Judge's Administrative Order conflicts with and attempts to amend Florida law, the Order cannot lawfully prohibit the State Attorney, assistant state attorneys, and their investigators from carrying firearms in the Twelfth Circuit's courtrooms.

Sincerely,

James Uthmeier
Attorney General