Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co.

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2009 United States Supreme Court case

2009 United States Supreme Court case

Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., 556 U.S. 868 (2009), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires judges to recuse themselves not only when actual bias has been demonstrated or when the judge has an economic interest in the outcome of the case but also when "extreme facts" create a "probability of bias."

Background

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In 1998, Harman Mining Company president Hugh Caperton filed a lawsuit against A.T. Massey Coal Company alleging that Massey fraudulently cancelled a coal supply contract with Harman Mining, resulting in its going out of business. In August 2002, a Boone County, West Virginia jury found in favor of Caperton and awarded $50 million in damages.

While the case was awaiting hearing in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals , A.T. Massey's Chief Executive Officer , Don Blankenship , became involved in the election campaign pitting incumbent Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw against Charleston lawyer Brent Benjamin . Blankenship created a non-profit corporation called "And for the Sake of the Kids" in order to force McGraw off the court and replace him with Benjamin through which he contributed over $3 million in Benjamin's behalf, an amount which, if it had been contributed directly to his campaign, was about 3,000 times the maximum permissible direct contribution to an election campaign. This amounted to more than the total amount spent by all other Benjamin supporters and Benjamin's own campaign committee. Much of the money went to an advertising campaign aimed at questioning McGraw's impartiality. McGraw further damaged his campaign during a speech at the 2004 United Mine Workers of America 's Labor Day rally in Racine, West Virginia in which he alleged that Republican operatives were following him "looking for ugly". The speech, sometimes referred to as the "Scream at Racine" or the "Scream from Racine" was featured in several campaign advertisements sponsored by the West Virginia Republican Party and may have played a large role in McGraw's defeat in November 2004.

Caperton Appeal

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In 2007, when the case came before the West Virginia Supreme Court, Caperton petitioned for Justice Benjamin to recuse himself because of Blankenship's contributions during the campaign. Benjamin declined and was ultimately part of the 3 to 2 majority that overturned the $50 million verdict.

Blankenship also petitioned for Justice Larry Starcher 's recusal due to a perceived public feud in which Starcher allegedly called Blankenship "stupid" and "a clown," and accused Blankenship of buying a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court. Starcher also refused to withdraw from the case, prompting a lawsuit from Massey Energy over the West Virginia Supreme Court's recusal procedures.

Caperton then asked for and was granted a rehearing of the case. Justice Starcher eventually recused himself from the case and decided not to run for reelection.

Around the same time, Justice Spike Maynard (who had also been part of the 3 to 2 majority) recused himself when photos of him vacationing with Blankenship in the French Riviera while the case was pending appeared in the media. Although Maynard was heavily favored to win reelection in 2008, the photos were featured heavily in the campaign and Maynard was defeated in the primary.

In April 2008, the West Virginia Supreme Court again ruled in favor of Massey, with Benjamin again joining the 3 to 2 majority.

Represented by former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson , Caperton filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court arguing that Blankenship's 2004 campaign expenditures on behalf of Benjamin's election raised an appearance of partiality on Benjamin's part, and due process required his recusal. Justice Benjamin countered that he was not biased and that because there was no direct financial or other connection between him and Blankenship, there was no obligation for him to recuse himself.

Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court

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The United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in March 2009. In June 2009, the Court found for Caperton and Harman Mining, remanding the case back to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, joined by Justices Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer. Chief Justice John G. Roberts wrote the dissent and was joined by Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito. Justice Scalia also filed a separate dissenting opinion.

Majority decision

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Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy called the appearance of a conflict of interest so "extreme" that Benjamin's failure to recuse himself constituted a violation of the plaintiff's Constitutional right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment . Justice Kennedy noted that not every campaign contribution by a litigant creates a probability of bias that requires a judge's recusal. Justice Kennedy wrote, "We conclude that there is a serious risk of actual bias — based on objective and reasonable perceptions — when a person with a personal stake in a particular case had a significant and disproportionate influence in placing the judge on the case by raising funds or directing the judge's election campaign when the case was pending or imminent."

"The inquiry," Justice Kennedy wrote, "centers on the contribution's relative size in comparison to the total amount of money contributed to the campaign, the total amount spent in the election, and the apparent effect such contribution had on the outcome of the election." Applying that test, Justice Kennedy ruled for the Court that "Blankenship's significant and disproportionate influence—coupled with the temporal relationship between the election and the pending case—"' "offer a possible temptation to the average . . . judge to . . . lead him not to hold the balance nice, clear and true."' "On these extreme facts the probability of actual bias rises to an unconstitutional level."

In holding that Justice Benjamin's participation in the case was a violation of due process, the Court made no finding of actual bias by Justice Benjamin: "In other words, based on the facts presented by Caperton, Justice Benjamin conducted a probing search into his actual motives and inclinations; and he found none to be improper. We do not question his subjective findings of impartiality and propriety. Nor do we determine whether there was actual bias."

Dissenting opinions

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In a vigorous dissent, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the majority decision would have dire consequences for "public confidence in judicial impartiality." The dissent emphasized that the "probability of bias" standard formulated by the Court was excessively vague and "inherently boundless." In an effort to demonstrate that "probability of bias" is an unclear and unworkable standard which gives no guidance to lower courts, Chief Justice Roberts' dissent posed forty questions about the scope of the decision, including how large of a contribution should be considered "disproportionate," what type of support is disqualifying, whether the case had been pending at the time of the election, how long after an election should any putative bias on behalf of a particular judge be construed, whether a judge's vote has to be outcome determinative in order for his non-recusal to constitute a due process violation or whether the parties are entitled to discovery with respect to a judge's recusal decision, among many other questions.

Chief Justice Roberts note

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