While federal and state judges are finding themselves at the center of political debates, California is taking it a step further. On June 5th, California will be the site of the first recall election of a full-time judge in the U.S. since 1982. For judges, this could be an ominous sign of an expanded electoral focus on their positions.

The recall itself, against Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky (pictured above), has received an avalanche of national news coverage. Persky has been under fire since his sentencing of a Stanford University swimmer to six months in jail for sexual assault.