As DeSantis’ First Amendment Losses Pile Up, Disney Smells Blood In The Water

A lot of the laws in the United States are so loosely defined that they rely on the courts to create a more precise definition. So when lawyers present a case, they scour through every state and Federal court log in United States history to find something to help them win.

As most laws are living/breathing things that change with each generation, lawyers often look for the most recent precedent to support their cases. Lawyers for the Walt Disney Company just found a precedent for its case against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that’s only a few days old, and it’s a gold mine.

Related: After Threatening Disney With A Prison, Threatens to ‘Flatten’ Disney Cruise Hotspot.

This week, lawyers for Disney filed a copy of a decision from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The case stems from Governor DeSantis’ removal of Tampa prosecutor Andrew Warren.

Governor DeSantis suspended Warren after Warren signed statements that opposed legislation to criminalize abortion and gender-affirming care. The 11th Circuit sent the case back to the United States District Court so Warren would have the opportunity to show that the First Amendment protected his political speech.

As a part of its First Amendment Lawsuit against Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, Disney filed a brief with the same court that will re-hear Warren’s case. Disney argues that the same First Amendment protections that protect Warren protect Disney from government retaliation. 

On Wednesday, a court overturned DeSantis’ trial-court win in a dispute over his removal of a state prosecutor saying the lower court erred in setting aside First Amendment rights concerns.

And on Thursday, Disney filed a copy of that decision to its lawsuit against DeSantis. https://t.co/lhQQjbRDij

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 12, 2024

Related: Disney Loses Supreme Court First Amendment Case

Disney quoted from the Warren Decision in its brief, saying:

For the same reason that the government can’t muzzle so-called ‘conservative’ speech under the guise of preventing on-campus ‘harassment’ … the state can’t exercise its coercive power to censor so-called ‘woke’ speech with which it disagrees.

Disney is accusing the governor of violating its First Amendment rights and government retaliation when he and the Florida Legislature stripped Walt Disney World of the Reedy Creek Improvement District and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

DeSantis proposed the legislation after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Lawyers for DeSantis have argued that the governor has “legislative immunity” and Disney’s case should be dismissed. Lawyers for both sides made their arguments before the New Year, and the federal judge has yet to respond to DeSantis’s dismissal request.

But with every loss Gov DeSantis suffers in court on other First Amendment cases, lawyers for Disney are given more ammunition for their case against him.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.