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Madison - State Supreme Court Justice David Prosser is not participating in any oral arguments this month because of a health issue that is not life-threatening, sources close to Prosser said.

That will leave six justices to hear several cases, raising the possibility of 3-3 splits on the deeply divided court. Prosser has not said if he is permanently off the cases, or if he will participate in decisions when he recovers and returns to the bench.

Prosser did not participate in orders this week in a fast-moving, politically charged case over recall elections, and he did not appear on the bench during oral arguments Thursday and Friday. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said in court Thursday that Prosser would not appear at any oral arguments this month, though she did not say why.

Those close to Prosser said he was taking the month to recover from a serious health issue. They said it would not affect his long-term ability to remain on the court. They said they did not know if he would later help decide any of the cases.

Prosser did not immediately return a call Friday.

Prosser, 68, is a former Assembly speaker who was appointed to the court in 1998 by then-Gov. Tommy G. Thompson. He was elected to a full term in 2001 and re-elected to another 10-year term this April in a contentious campaign that came on the heels of massive protests at the Capitol over collective bargaining.

Two months later, he got into a physical altercation with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley as they discussed releasing a 4-3 decision that upheld the way Republicans in the Legislature approved the collective bargaining law. In that incident, Bradley confronted Prosser face-to-face in her chambers and he put his hands on her neck in front of four of the other justices.

No charges were issued in the case, but a separate investigation by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission is ongoing. The commission oversees the state's ethics code for judges.

One of the most closely watched cases this term is the one filed last month by a group of Republican citizens who say any recall elections of legislators should occur in newly drawn districts that favor their party. Election officials say the new districts are not to take effect until the fall of 2012, and they have ruled any recall elections before then will occur using maps that have been in place since 2002.

The case was filed Nov. 21, and the high court has told all sides to file memorandums on the case next week. Prosser did not participate in the orders the court issued this week, and on Friday the Republican group asked to withdraw the case.

The group has a separate case over the same issue pending in Waukesha County. That matter could still remain partly before the Supreme Court because the group contends the high court must appoint a panel of three circuit judges to hear the Waukesha County case.