Caperton v A.T. Massey Coal Co.

Due Process / Judicial Elections

Public Citizen filed amicus briefs in support of the cert. petition in this case and, after the Court granted the petition, in support of the petitioners. The petition in this case asks whether judicial campaign contributions can ever form the basis for recusal of a judge and, if so, under what circumstances recusal may be required. Public Citizen’s briefs highlight the breadth of the problem, which extends well beyond cases involving eye-catching contribution amounts or multi-million dollar verdicts. We urged the Court to address the circumstances under which judicial campaign contributions can create an appearance of impropriety that threatens the public’s and litigants’ faith in the judicial system.

The Supreme Court decided in favor of the petitioner.