A federal judge in Florida disqualified himself from a court case brought by Disney against Gov.
Ron DeSantis, but not before blasting the governor’s legal team for engaging in “rank judge shopping.”In a ruling late Thursday, Mark E. Walker, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said he would no longer preside over the case, filed by Disney last month.
Disney accused Mr. DeSantis and a board that oversees government services at Disney World of engaging in “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.”The case was reassigned to Judge Allen C. Winsor, who was appointed to the court in 2019 by President Donald J. Trump.
Lawyers for Mr. DeSantis had sought to disqualify Judge Walker, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, because he twice mentioned Mr. DeSantis’s actions against Disney in unrelated court cases last year.
The lawyers contended that Judge Walker’s brief remarks, 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.”
Persons:
Ron DeSantis, Mark E, Walker, Disney, DeSantis, Allen C, Winsor, Donald J, Judge Walker, Barack Obama, Walker’s, “, ”
Organizations:
Disney, Gov, U.S, Northern, Northern District of, Trump, Lawyers, Mr
Locations:
Florida, Northern District, Northern District of Florida