Republican Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn made headlines earlier this month when he opted to recuse himself from a case concerning a controversial labor law.

Yet in a move that is sure to leave the GOP enraged, one of Hagedorn's Democratic counterparts has rejected calls that she do the same. 

Justice claims that she can act impartially

According to the Associated Press, Justice Janet Protasiewicz made that decision public via a statement released on Wednesday.

"I am confident that I can, in fact and appearance, act in an impartial manner in this case," the news service quoted Protasiewicz as saying.

Specifically, the legislation stripped collective bargaining abilities from most government workers, including teachers and nurses. Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost found it to be unconstitutional in a ruling late last year.

Republican lawmakers pointed to Protasiewicz's prior remarks

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that Republicans asked Protasiewicz to recuse herself, pointing to how she previously said Act 10 is unconstitutional when campaigning for a seat on the state's highest judicial body last year.

"Justice Protasiewicz promised Wisconsin voters that she would not prejudge cases," state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos were quoted as saying.

"On the campaign trail, she repeatedly mentioned and prejudged Act 10," the two lawmakers asserted before adding, "Today’s motion asks her to do what she acknowledged to be right and ethical: step aside on this case."

Protasiewicz herself told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she would consider recusing herself from the Act 10 case given that she had participated in protests over the bill and signed a recoil petition against then-Gov. Walker.

Republican justice helped defend Act 10 from prior challenges

In contrast with Protasiewicz, Justice Hagedorn concluded that he was ineligible to rule on Act 10 since he served as chief legal counsel for Walker when the law was being drafted and helped defend it from previous challenges.

"Members of the judiciary take a solemn oath to be independent and impartial," Hagedorn wrote in an order put out on January 30.

"Our duty is to call it straight in every case, with neither partiality nor prejudice toward anyone. The law must guide our decisions—not politics, tribalism, or personal policy views," he insisted.

As Hagedorn drew to a close, he declared that a justice's recusal "is not optional when the law commands it," pointing to court ethics rules and legal filings in the case.