Just to play Devil's Advocate here...
Do these judges not have rights? Are they not voters like anyone else? Are they not entitled to sign a petition?
Now - if they knew that going in and signed the petition, well... That doesn't look good.
But I wonder if it might be a case of signing a petition
Mr. John Doe
....vs...
The Honorable John Doe, 1st Cictuit Court, Eqs.
The latter would CLEARLY look like someone was trying to put a little more weight behind THEIR signature as opposed to the rest of the 'commoners'.
So I took a look at the PDF and it seems to be trying to split hairs. Clearly, there are some prohibitions on conduct. According to statute, they cannot:
Quote:
participate in the affairs, caucuses, promotions, platforms, endorsements, conventions, or activities of a political party or of a candidate for partisan office"; or "publicly
endorse or speak on behalf of its candidates or platforms."
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So.. I guess what it all boils down to is what the recall petition is considered. Is it a party's activity? A candidate? If it's started by John Q. Public, I don't think they have a leg to stand on. If it was something done exclusively by the Democratic Party - there might be some traction there.