judgesonmerit.org

The United States Supreme Court today announced its decision in Caperton v. Massey, the West Virginia case asking whether the Due Process Clause requires judges to recuse in cases involving campaign contributors.

The Court, in a five-four decision authored by Justice Kennedy, ruled that in some cases, circumstances — including the amount of the contribution, the proportional size of the contribution related to other campaign fundraising and expenditure, the probable impact of the contribution on the election, and the timing of the litigation — may require recusal because “there is a serious risk of actual bias.”

The Court made clear that the inquiry is not whether there was actual bias, but whether all the circumstances create too great a risk of bias:

Although there is no allegation of a quid pro quo agreement, the fact remains that  Blankenship’s extraordinary contributions were made at a time when he had a vested stake in the outcome.  Just as no man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, similar fears of bias can arise when — without the consent of the other parties — a man chooses the judge in his own cause.  And applying this principle to the judicial election process, there was here a serious, objective risk of actual bias that required Justice Benjamin’s recusal.

PMC is heartened that the Court recognized that expensive judicial elections and the fundraising and contributions they require can create serious perception and confidence problems for the public.  We fear, however, that the dissenters’s predictions of future confusion and ongoing litigation will come to pass.  We believe the best solution is to get judges out of the fundraising business altogether and end the poisonous campaign contribution game by changing to Merit Selection.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS