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If a state judge accepted campaign contributions and endorsements from an individual, business or other organization now appearing before them in court, should a judge be required to recuse themselves from hearing the case? Why?
In Wisconsin:
"The state's longstanding ethical code for judges says they must recuse themselves if their impartiality can reasonably be questioned. The new rule amends that to say campaign spending and endorsements alone aren't enough to require them to step aside."
The new rule was written by the Wisconsin Realtors Association and business lobbying group Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. [VMC]
And:
The issue of recusal flared up in 2007 when Ziegler stepped aside in a case between the Realtors and the Town of West Point in Columbia County. The town had asked her to get off the case because she received $8,625 from the Realtors.
. . .
Ziegler took heat months later when she decided to stay on another case viewed as critical by WMC, which spent $2 million to help get her elected. Ziegler wrote the 4-3 decision that favored WMC's position, triggering hundreds of millions of dollars in business tax refunds.
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