Judge In Disney-DeSantis Case Steps Down After Family Stock Ownership Revealed

The federal judge overseeing Walt Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recused himself from the court case after it was revealed that a family member of his owns stock in the media giant.

Judge Mark E. Walker, who has an extended history of voting against DeSantis, and is the chief judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, previously accused DeSantis of ‘rank judge shopping’ after the governor had requested the judge step aside. Upon learning about his family owning stocks in the company, he had a change in tune, saying that he will no longer preside over the case because ‘a relative within the third degree’ — meaning it could be Walker’s great-grandchildren, first cousin or great-aunt, — owns 30 shares of the company suing DeSantis.

The case will now go before Judge Allen Winsor, a Republican who was nominated to the bench in 2019 by DeSantis’ GOP rival, President Donald Trump.

The judge also said that he had no choice but to step aside since his relative’s ‘financial interest’ could be affected by the case.

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In a 14-page memo obtained by Politico, the judge goes on to say:

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, […] Maintaining public trust in the judiciary is paramount, perhaps now more than ever in the history of our Republic.

Walker previously ruled against DeSantis in 2022 — when he tossed a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Florida professors that challenged a new law establishing a survey about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on state campuses. Walker was also the judge appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012 and eventually became chief of the district.

Last month, DeSantis asked that Walker be disqualified from the lawsuit filed, claiming the judge’s prior statements in other cases have raised questions about impartiality when it came to the state’s efforts to take over Disney World’s governing body.

This all started when Disney reacted to the Republican-led legislature’s Parental Rights in Education law by saying the following:

Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law, Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.

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Then, in February, DeSantis signed a bill that would give him new power over the Walt Disney Company by ending the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the government body that gave unique powers to Disney in Central Florida for more than half a century.

The corporation then accused DeSantis and his administration of illegally using the state government to punish a company ‘for voicing an opinion’ that should be protected by free-speech rights, with them following through by suing DeSantis in federal court, asking it to overturn state efforts to control Disney World.


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