Supreme Court Docket Report - October Term, 2008 - Due Process Clause - Judicial Recusal

Originally published November 17, 2008

Keywords: Supreme Court, due process clause, judicial recusal, campaign contributions, A.T. Massey Coal Co., Massey Energy Company, Caperton, Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp.

The increasingly prevalent role of financial contributions in state judicial elections has long engendered controversy.  On Friday the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., No. 08-22, to decide when, if ever, the Due Process Clause requires that a judge recuse himself because an officer of a company involved in litigation before the court contributed money to the judge's campaign.

In this case, in which a judge declined to recuse himself, the Court will, for the first time in decades, consider the due process standards for judicial disqualification.  The Court's resolution of this case is of significant interest to the business community because it could have a profound effect on judicial campaign contributions and