A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who helped write Act 10 recused himself Thursday as the high court signaled it was preparing to take up a legal challenge to the 2011 law limiting public employees’ collective bargaining rights.

Hagedorn's recusal marks a major blow to Republicans' hopes of a favorable ruling in their quest to uphold the 2011 law that gutted public sector collective bargaining in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Supreme Court general election set to be held in April will determine ideological control of the court.

A conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice will not participate in a pending case that will determine whether tens of thousands of public sector workers regain collective bargaining rights that were taken away by a 2011 law.