Some judges who didn't sign the recall petition had a different take on the issue.
"When you sign up for this job, to some extent you compromise your ability to express your own political beliefs one way or the other," said Brown County Judge Marc Hammer. "I think if you're asked to judge the conduct of others, you need to be mindful of what your conduct is."
Adam Skaggs, senior counsel for Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, said he doesn't believe signing a recall petition would result in sanctions, but he said it is a gray area that should be avoided.
Professor Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota Law School questioned why judges would expose themselves to the potential perception of bias. He said judges often have to decide cases where the governor or lawmakers are parties, and they sometimes have to rule on close elections.
"For judges to be getting involved in the question of whether the governor ought to be recalled I think is highly inappropriate," Painter said.
