Why Gableman May Not Recuse Himself

Recuse himself?

One local lawyer says it's not so cut-and-dried:

Rick Esenberg, president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative public interest law firm, said that determining whether a judge must recuse after receiving legal service depends on several factors, including whether he had recused himself from some past cases, how long ago the law firm had represented him and what the work involved.

"That's a judgment call," Esenberg said.

The conservative, Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation is a funder of Esenberg's new law firm - - WILL - - and the firm is involved in several high profile issues, including aspects of Walker's collective bargaining restrictions and the Milwaukee streetcar implementation.

I used to sit with Rick on Eric Von's media roundtable radio show "Backstory" on 1290-AM when Eric had an afternoon drive-time program.

Rick was the principal conservative voice and I was the more persuasive and effective liberal alternative.

Regardless, he's an effective advocate for his point of view and the go-to legal consultant for some Wisconsin media.

Anyhow, I'll be interested to see see what happens. I'm not a lawyer, but I think Gableman needs to recuse himself.