CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. -- An attorney for Terry Lynn Barton said her state prison sentence for starting last year's Hayman Fire should be vacated and the judge who handed down that sentence should recuse himself.

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The defense lawyer said Judge Edward Colt (pictured, right) shouldn't have heard the case because smoke from the wildfire forced him out of his home.

Before issuing his sentence, Colt told everyone in the courtroom that even though he was not one of the residents who was forced to evacuate, he was worried enough about his house burning that he left voluntarily.

"I have a place over the hill, up Teller 1, and my house was not burned. However, at one point, the fire, or the smoke, came over the ridge so strongly that my neighbor drove in my driveway and encouraged me to evacuate and I did," Colt said during the sentencing.

He said that through the course of his job as a Teller County judge, he has come into contact with many victims in the area.

"I've been a district judge in Teller County for a couple of years now so as I conducted my court since the fire, I can't tell you how many people have come before the court and told me about, for various reasons, how the fire has affected them. Some people come in to explain why they miss court. Others come into to explain why they haven't been able to make child support payments. So just by doing my job, I've come in contact with a lot of victims."

7News has also learned that two of Colt's clerks were injured during fire-related activities. One clerk was involved with the Salvation Army when she fell and seriously hurt her arm and shoulder, missing several days of work. Courthouse sources also told 7NEWS that Colt helped this clerk evacuate her home when the fire was closing in. When asked to deny that information, she did not deny it, but said she "could not talk about it, had no comment" and hung up the phone. A second clerk confirmed to 7NEWS that she missed work as a result of an injury sustained while evacuating animals from her home.

Colt also said he helped feed firefighters battling the blaze.

"I spent an evening at the Salvation Army truck, giving food to the people that were there, that had been displaced by the fire. Some of them were firefighters. Some of them were people who had evacuated," Colt said. "I worked through the area, or part of the area that's been claimed by the fire," Colt said during the sentencing.

Defense attorney Sharlene Reynolds said Colt should have revealed his involvement when first assigned the case and may have influenced his decision to sentence Barton to the maximum 12 years in prison on a single state arson charge.

"I was shocked that he gave the maximum in the aggravated range to someone with absolutely no criminal history background, to someone who has a stellar background, to an extraordinary woman," Reynolds said.

Reynolds said she'll file a formal motion asking Colt to recuse himself. If he does, that would automatically vacate the state sentence.

According to the American Bar Association, judges should recuse themselves if there is an appearance of bias, or "whenever the judge believes his or her impartiality can reasonably be questioned."

Reynolds said if Colt refuses to recuse himself, she will take the case to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Colt couldn't be reached for comment but during the sentencing he said he suffered no monetary loss due to the fire, and that like thousands of area residents, he continually saw the Hayman smoke.

Barton begins serving her federal sentence March 24. She is to serve her state sentence concurrently with her six year sentence on federal charges.