UPDATED: The Hits Just Keep On Coming: Annette Ziegler Conflicted Case Load Rises to 164

What will be the tipping point in the conflict-of-issue saga now dominating Annette Ziegler's race for the Supreme Court - - the very branch of government that investigates and disciplines jusges for ethical lapses? What began as a single case involving Wal-Mart ballooned to 24, then 35, then 59 - - and today there another 164, according to blogger Bill Christofferson and others.

UPDATE: A Wisconsin attorney with a practice of more than thirty years sent me this comment. The attorney offers the simplist reason why "gut checks" are the wrong way to measure whether a judge should sit on a potentially-conflicted case, and what this should mean for Ziegler's campaign:

"This should cost Ziegler the election. I really can't believe that she was dumb enough not to have just gotten off the cases.

"The "gut check" line is quite outrageous. The rules of judicial conduct are written precisely so that judges don't do "gut checks."

They just have to read the rules.

That's what judges do."