Siefert recuses self due to party affiliation

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By Marie Rohde
The Daily Reporter

The only judge in Wisconsin who is a registered member of a political party has excused himself from hearing a lawsuit against the Republican candidate for secretary of state.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge John Siefert, a registered Democrat, said in a written statement Friday said that while judges should not sidestep high profile cases, they should avoid the appearance of impropriety.

The defendant in the suit, David King, is a Tea Party-endorsed Republican who is challenging longtime incumbent Douglas LaFollette for secretary of state in Tuesday’s election. Plaintiff Charlette Harris is accusing King of impregnating her while she was drunk and unconscious.

Siefert said that King had described the lawsuit as part of a plot against him.

“The judicial system strives to have litigants subjectively feel that they are being treated fairly and impartially,” Siefert said in a statement of his reasons for recusal.

In 2008, Siefert filed a federal lawsuit asking that a rule barring Wisconsin judges from belonging to political parties or contributing to partisan campaigns be declared unconstitutional. Federal District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in his favor. A federal appellate court found that a judge can belong to a political party but cannot endorse partisan candidates.

A petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case has been filed.