A federal judge denied the state’s request that he disqualify himself from presiding over Walt Disney Parks and Resorts v Gov. Ron DeSantis et al but has recused himself for another reason.
Northern District of Florida Judge Mark Walker was asked to remove himself from the case last week.
“A relative within the third degree of relationship owns thirty shares of stock in plaintiff’s parent corporation, The Walt Disney Company,” Walker wrote in his June 1 ruling. “I became obligated to engage in a separate inquiry pursuant to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges to determine if the financial interest of my third-degree relative “could be substantially affected by the outcome of [this] proceeding.” I have engaged in that inquiry and determined that disqualification from this proceeding is required under the circumstances.”
Attorneys for DeSantis moved Walker to disqualify himself based on comments he made in his capacity as a judge in open court in which they alleged that in two unrelated cases, the Obama-nominated judge spontaneously offered ‘Disney’ as an example of state retaliation in open court.
“I'm glad that Judge Walker addressed and refuted the motion to disqualify that was filed,” said Santa Rosa Beach attorney Daniel Uhlfelder who is not a party to the litigation. “If you're going to disqualify a federal judge, you should have a really good reason and it seemed more like a political attempt to remove a judge because they felt like he would not be favorable to them.”
Walker did not specify which relative in his family owns Disney stock. At the close of business day on June 2, Disney shares were trading at $90.77, according to MarketWatch.
“To recuse yourself over $3,000 worth of stock owned by a relative is probably not very common,” Uhlfelder told the Florida Record. “I don't think they have that many shares, but I guess it is a financial interest.”
Judge Allen C. Winsor was tapped to replace Walker.
Winsor was nominated on April 10, 2018, by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2019.
"You cannot really predict how a judge is going to rule based on who appointed them," Uhlfelder added. 'I don't think that's a fair analysis."
More than 200 national organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, opposed the confirmation of Allen Winsor at the time because he was perceived as attempting to restrict voting rights, LGBT equality, reproductive freedom, environmental protection, criminal defendants’ rights, and gun safety.
"He does not possess the neutrality and fair-mindedness necessary to serve in a lifetime position as a federal judge," stated a June 2018 letter signed by Vanita Gupta, president, and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.