A federal judge recused himself in a case Walt Disney World brought against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last month, but not before accusing the Republican presidential candidate of “shopping with a judge of rank”.
In a ruling late Thursday, Judge Mark E. Walker, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said he would no longer preside over the politically contentious case.
He denied the move was related to attorneys for the Florida governor seeking to disqualify him from the case over remarks he made last year about DeSantis’ actions against Disney.
Instead, Walker claimed he made the decision to walk away from the case after discovering that someone close to him owned shares in the House of Mouse. The judge then called the DeSantis team’s legal objections “judge buying.”
The company claimed in federal court papers that the Republican governor and the Florida Tourism Supervisory Board were “weaponizing” their power to impose political sanctions.
In a ruling on Thursday evening, Judge Mark E. Walker, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, (pictured) said he would no longer preside over a case Walt Disney World had brought against the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.
In ruling, judge accuses Republican presidential candidate of ‘shopping with a ranking judge’ after his lawyers sought to have him disqualified
Lawyers for the Republican governor argued that Walker’s remarks last year in unrelated cases, which were made as he asked hypothetical questions, “could reasonably be understood to reflect the court’s prejudgment of Disney’s retaliation theory here, and therefore create significant doubts about the court’s impartiality.
But in his decision Thursday, Walker denied those claims, noting that he had raised DeSantis’ relationship with Disney in a case “dealing with the motives of political actors (including some of the same actors here).”
“Defendants choose the language of these cases to support their position without acknowledging the entirely separate context underlying each decision,” the Obama-appointed judge wrote.
He argued that the quoted remarks “cannot raise substantial doubt about my impartiality in the mind of a fully informed and disinterested layman”.
Walker even went so far as to criticize the motion as “nothing more than rank judge shopping”, saying “this practice has become too common in this district”.
“However, the defendants understood one thing well,” he continued. “That is, if a judge has any doubts as to whether a disqualification is necessary, they must resolve those doubts in favor of the disqualification.”
He then shared that he learned last week that a relative owned 30 Disney shares, and because Disney attorneys argue DeSantis’ alleged retaliation against the company could affect his earnings, he decided to step down.
“While I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have any material effect on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution – which here is also on the side of judicial integrity – and to disqualify,” Walker wrote.
“Maintaining public confidence in your judicial system is paramount, perhaps more than ever in the history of our Republic,” he said.
Walker concluded by saying, “I am confident that my colleagues on this Court can preside over the remainder of this case and adjudicate it fairly and wisely.”
The case has been reassigned to Judge Allen C. Winsor, who was appointed to the court under former President Trump, according to the New York Times.
Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and Florida’s Tourism Supervisory Board last month, accusing them of ‘weaponizing’ their political power by scrapping a deal that would have allowed the company to retain control of the district. Reedy Creek Improvement.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District spans nearly 40 square miles and includes the entire Walt Disney World Resort. The area is renamed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and includes a new five-member council appointed by DeSantis
House of Mouse attorneys filed a lawsuit against DeSantis last month after his five-member board voted to void a deal that would maintain Disney’s control of Reedy Creek, home of the Disney resorts. World and Walt Disney World.
Since 1967, Disney has controlled the ownership and decisions of the effectively self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Federal Judge Allen C. Winsor (pictured) will now preside over the case
But DeSantis argued that the company should not have any special privileges and stripped the company of its autonomy from the region.
“For more than half a century, Disney has had an immeasurable impact on Florida and its economy, establishing Central Florida as a premier global tourist destination and attracting tens of millions of visitors to the state each year. “, says the lawsuit.
“Individuals and families from all corners of the world have traveled to Walt Disney World because of the unparalleled guest experience it provides and the deep emotional connection that generations of fans have with the timeless stories and characters of Disney,” he continues.
“A targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech — now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.
The attorneys claimed that the Florida government failed to properly notify the company that it was voiding the company’s agreements and that due process was not followed.
But in a statement to DailyMail.com, DeSantis communications director Taryn Fenske called the lawsuit “yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of Florida voters and operate outside the boundaries of the law”.
She added that the Florida governor’s team “is not aware of any legal right that any company has to run its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other companies in the state.”
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire last month, DeSantis vowed not to back down in his fight against the House of Mouse
The Florida governor has since vowed not to back down in his fight against Disney.
Addressing a crowd of potential voters in New Hampshire last month, he said: “They want to have their own government at Disney, they’ve had their own government for 50 years.” It’s massive corporate welfare, and we’re not going to do that.
‘They will live under the same laws as everyone else. They are going to pay their fair share of taxes and they are not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to rule, and putting a society on a pedestal and leaving it exempt from laws is not good policy,” he said.
“It’s not a free market economy. And that’s not something our state is going to be involved in. And so we won’t change from that. They can do whatever they want. I know people try to tweet and say this or that. The chance of us backing down on that is nil.
