The state GOP is coming out swinging, after a Dane County judge on Tuesday issued a temporary injunction to block Wisconsin’s Voter ID law.
State Republican Party spokesman Ben Sparks calls the decision very troubling, citing the fact that Judge David Flanagan signed a petition to recall Governor Scott Walker from office. Walker is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit brought by the NAACP and Voces de la Frontera.
The judge also listed Melissa Mulliken, a former advisor to Democratic recall candidate Kathleen Falk, as his campaign manager. Mulliken is a political consultant who has worked for several campaigns in both Democratic and non-partisan races.
Sparks says the signature shows Flanagan is not impartial in his capacity as a judge and it’s another case of a “liberal judge legislating from the bench.”
Flanagan declined to comment on the signature or if it should have forced him to recuse himself from hearing the case. He was appointed to the bench in 1999 by former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson.
Republicans say they are planning to file a complaint against Judge Flanagan with the state Judicial Commission.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (:45)
Contributed by John Colbert, WIBA