Judge in Disney/DeSantis Case Recuses Himself

It’s been over 15 months since the battle between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis began. In March 2022, now ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill. The bill was supported by Governor DeSantis, and he did not like Disney taking a public stance. Chapek speaking out began triggered DeSantis and the Republican state legislature to begin passing a number of laws targeting Disney. First and foremost, the state stripped Walt Disney World of its right to self-govern. Things got so bad that Disney eventually filed a lawsuit against DeSantis.

According to Disney’s lawsuit, the governor has waged a war of retaliation against the company. Disney claims that DeSantis’ actions are a direct violation of Disney’s First Amendment right to free speech. The governor has not backed down, saying that Disney filed the lawsuit for political reasons.

DeSantis doesn’t seem too bothered by the lawsuit, but that hasn’t stopped his legal team from fighting back. On May 19, DeSantis and his legal team filed a motion asking Chief Judge Mark E Wallace to recuse himself from the case. The motion stated that DeSantis’ team worried that the judge would not be able to be impartial due to previous statements that he had made.

In the law, Jude Wallace is allowed to decide if he is impartial. If he cannot decide, he is allowed to pass the decision on to another judge. On June 1, we learned that Judge Wallace decided to recuse himself from the case. According to the judge, he discovered that one of his relatives owns 30 shares of stock in The Walt Disney Company.

Per a statement filed by the judge:

“On Friday, May 26, 2023, I learned, and later confirmed, that a relative within the third degree of relationship owns thirty shares of stock in Plaintiff’s parent corporation, The Walt Disney Company. Upon learning this information, 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.“

The judge did note that most of DeSantis’ motion had no merit. However, Judge Wallace wants everything to be above board, so he recused himself. Federal Judge Allen C. Windsor is set to take over the case. Judge Windsor will now decide on previously filed motions from both sides.

No trial date for the retaliation lawsuit has been set. Disney Fanatic will keep readers updated as we learn more.