Judicial Credibility: Caperton v. Massey and Constitutional Recusal Requirements

Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a modestly groundbreaking ruling on constitutionally required judicial recusal.[1] The case, Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.,[2]> garnered significant public attention before it ever reached SCOTUS.  In fact, the underlying story proved so dramatic that John Grisham used it for the basis of his most recent novel, The Appeal.[3]  Caperton represents the Court’s first major case regarding disqualification of judges since the 1970s.  The Court, by a 5-4 majority, held that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment requires a judge to recuse himself to avoid the probability of bias, and that within the framework of judicial election campaign contributions, a multi-factor test may objectively determine such a probability.