Supreme Court Weighing Key Case on Judicial Ethics

Mar 9th, 2009 • Posted in: News

Divided court is debating who has the right to require recusal when judges hear cases involving donors

WASHINGTON
The U.S. Supreme Court last week began hearing a case that cuts to the heart of what many observers feel is the most troublesome ethics dilemma facing the judiciary: money and influence in judicial elections.

USA Today reports that the case involves a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign waged by a mining executive in order to elect a West Virginia Supreme Court judge, who later presided over cases affecting the mining company.

According to a report from the Charleston Gazette, the case — Caperton v. Massey — has divided the court, with several moderate justices arguing that the judge’s refusal to recuse himself from the case created the appearance of unfairness.

But conservative justices Antonin Scalia and John Roberts appeared to side with the opposite view, according to the Gazette.

This case breaks new legal ground, according to legal analyst Marcia Coyle, because it is the first on the Supreme Court docket involving the context of contributions in a political judicial campaign. Coyle told PBS’s “NewsHour” that the High Court previously has ruled only that “a judge should recuse himself or herself in two types of cases: where the judge has a financial interest in the outcome of the case; and in proceedings related to a judge’s issuance of a contempt order.”

Caperton v. Massey is being watched intently by a variety of judicial constituencies across the United States, reports the Detroit Free Press, because the decision will essentially tell state and local judges whether they are required to recuse themselves from hearing cases in which campaign donors have an interest.

Michigan took a tentative first step in examining the issue late last week when the chief judge of the state’s Supreme Court announced her intention to open public debate on recusal standards, according to the Free Press.

Sources: Detroit Free Press, Mar. 5 — PBS “NewsHour,” Mar. 4 — Charleston Gazette, Mar. 4 — USA Today, Mar. 4.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Sep. 22, 2008 — Related Newsline story, May 29, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 20, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 28, 2006 — Related Newsline story, July 24, 2006.

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One Response »

1. Ethics Newsline® » News » State Court Orders Slate Wiped Clean for Many Sentenced by Corrupt Judge on March 30th, 2009 at 6:56 pm:

   [...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, Mar. 9 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 16 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 17, 2008 [...]

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