Judge recuses himself in DeSantis v Disney case because a relatives owns stock ... trends now
A federal judge has recused himself in a case Walt Disney World brought against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last month — but not before accusing the Republican presidential nominee of 'rank judge shopping.'
In an ruling late Thursday night, Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said he would no longer preside over the politically-contentious case.
He denied that the move was related to lawyers for the Florida governor seeking to disqualify him from the case due to remarks he made last year about DeSantis' actions against Disney.
Instead, Walker claimed that he made the decision to step away from the case after he found out that one of his relatives owns stock in the House of Mouse.
The company has claimed in federal court documents that the Republican governor and Florida's Tourism Oversight Board were 'weaponizing' their power to inflict political punishment.
In an ruling late Thursday night, Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, (pictured) said he would no longer preside over a case Walt Disney World brought against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
In his ruling, the judge accusing the Republican presidential nominee of 'rank judge shopping' after his lawyers sought to get him disqualified
Lawyers for the Republican governor have argued that Walker's remarks last year in unrelated cases, which were made as he was posing hypothetical questions, 'could reasonably be understood to reflect that the court has prejudged Disney's retaliation theory here, and therefore create significant doubts about the court's impartiality.'
But in his ruling on Thursday, Walker denied these claims, noting that he brought up DeSantis' dealings with Disney in a case 'dealing with the motivations of political actors (including some of the same actors here).'
'Defendants cherry-pick language from these cases to support their position without acknowledging the wholly distinguishable context underlying each decision,' the Obama-appointed judge wrote.
He argued that the cited remarks 'cannot raise a substantial doubt about my impartiality in the mind of a fully informed, disinterested lay person.'
Walker even went as far as to slam the motion as 'nothing more than rank judge-shopping,' claiming 'this practice has become all too common in this district.'
'However, defendants did get one thing right,' he continued. 'That is, if a judge has doubts over whether disqualification is required, he should resolve these doubts in favor of disqualification.'
He then went on to share that he learned last week that a relative has 30 shares of Disney stock, and because Disney lawyers argue that DeSantis' alleged retaliation of the company could affect its revenue stream, he decided to step aside.
'Even though I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have a substantial effect on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution — which, here, is also the side of judicial integrity — and disqualify myself,' Walker wrote.
'Maintaining public trust in thee judiciary is paramount, perhaps now more than ever in the history of our Republic,' he said.
Walker concluded by
