A federal judge who has already ruled against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is stepping down from presiding over a high-profile case in which Disney sued the governor.
The state sought the disqualification of U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker based on comments he made in court concerning the ongoing spat between the entertainment mogul and the Republican governor.
DeSantis, running for president, has made his feud with Disney a centerpiece of his political platform.
Walker said on Thursday that the state’s motion was “meritless.” However, he will withdraw from the case because he found this week that an unidentified “third-degree” relative owns 30 shares of Disney stock.
“Even though I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have a significant impact on The Walt Disney Company,” Walker said in a 14-page decision, “I choose to err on the side of caution — which, in this case, is also the side of judicial integrity — and disqualify myself.” “Maintaining public trust in the judiciary is critical, perhaps now more than ever in our Republic’s history.”
DeSantis’ battle with the California entertainment behemoth, which he has referred to as a “woke corporation” from Burbank, has been a regular theme of his re-election and now presidential campaigns.
On Thursday, he again brought up his battle with the corporation on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, saying “there will be no compromise” with one of the state’s most important jobs.
Disney and DeSantis’ battle began last year when the company spoke out against Florida’s “parental rights in education” law, which prohibits classroom discussion concerning gender identity or s*xual orientation in lower grades.
Florida responded to Disney’s vocal resistance to the rule, dubbed “Don’t Say G@y” by depriving the company of self-government over hundreds of acres in central Florida.
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Federal judge recuses himself from Disney, DeSantis case: report https://t.co/hUtGbLyM2B
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) June 2, 2023
However, before a new tourism district board named by DeSantis took over the area, the previous Disney-controlled board surreptitiously inked an agreement transferring authority to the business.
The DeSantis-aligned board and then the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature tried to annul the pact in retaliation. Disney promptly filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and others, claiming it was unlawful and retaliatory.
In recent years, Walker, nominated to the court by former President Obama, has presided over multiple acrimonious legal battles involving DeSantis, former Gov. Rick Scott, and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature.
He blocked elements of the DeSantis-backed “Stop WOKE Act” last year, and in 2021 he secured the state’s “anti-riot” legislation championed by DeSantis.
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In 2022, he also decided that a legislator-passed election bill was unlawful and discriminated against minorities. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled that ruling earlier this year.
In May, state attorneys filed a motion to remove Walker from office. Disney opposed the move, claiming that Walker had not demonstrated any bias in the case.
As a result of Walker’s ruling, the Disney case has been moved to U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, a Trump appointment who formerly worked as Florida’s solicitor general under then-state Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Walker stated in his order, “I am confident that my colleagues on this court can preside over the remainder of this case and judge it fairly and wisely.”
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