Caperton v. Massey | |
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Argued March 3, 2009 Decided June 8, 2009 | |
Full case name | Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co. |
Docket no. | 08-22 |
Citations | 556 U.S. 868 (more) 129 S. Ct. 2252; 173 L. Ed. 2d 1208; 2009 U.S. LEXIS 4157; 77 USLW 4456; 09 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7053; 2009 Daily Journal D.A.R. 8207; 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 908 |
Argument | Oral argument |
Case history | |
Prior | 223 W. Va. 624, 679 S.E.2d 223 (2008); cert. granted, Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 555 U.S. 1028 (2008). |
Holding | |
Justice Brent Benjamin’s failure to recuse himself created an unconstitutional “probability of bias.” | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Kennedy, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
Dissent | Roberts, joined by Scalia, Thomas, Alito |
Dissent | Scalia |
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."[1]