Litigation

More Reporting, Commentary on Caperton

By Charlie Hall

Legal Newsline has done a thorough report on the briefs in the Caperton v. Massey case, particularly by the Conference of Chief Justices and a brief by 27 former state chief justices and justices. 

As the article’s title notes, ”W.Va. Chief Justice Benjamin not receiving much support in Massey recusal issue,” the briefs by top jurists affirm that judges increasingly may have to recuse themselves from cases involving major campaign supporters. The article included a quote from the Conference of Chief Justices brief, which represents the views of the nation’s current sitting state chief justices:

“As judicial election campaigns become costlier and more politicized, public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the nation’s elected judges may be imperiled. Disqualification is an increasingly important tool for assuring litigants that they will receive a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal.”

The brief by the 27 retired justices added:

“Substantial financial support of a judicial candidate - whether contributions to the judge’s campaign committee or independent expenditures - can influence a judge’s future decisions, both consciously and unconsciously.

“Amici believe that the only way to preserve a litigant’s due process right to adjudication before an impartial judge is to require that a judge recuse from a case not only when the judge consciously perceives the judge’s own partiality, but also when there exists a reasonable appearance of partiality
or impropriety.”

 Similar points are made in a blog posting by Associated Press reporter Lawrence Messina.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).