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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Courts - More on: The plot of John Grisham's latest novel may have already come to life in W. Va.
A quote from NPR in this Feb. 11th ILB entry about the West Virginia Supreme Court:
Three of the five state Supreme Court justices have been asked to recuse themselves from rehearing a case in March involving one of the biggest businessmen in the state, Don Blankenship of Massey Coal. Two of the justices have ties to him, and the third has publicly criticized the businessman.Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard recused himself last month, after vacation photos surfaced of him in Monaco in 2006 with Massey's CEO, Blankenship. Today Lawrence Messina of the AP reports that a second justice has resigned, one who criticized the Chief Justice's relationship with Blankenship. Today's story begins:
West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher withdrew Friday from hearing an appeal by Massey Energy Co. in a case involving a multimillion-dollar judgment against the company in a coal contract dispute.It was the latest twist in the case that has seen the chief justice recuse himself after photos surfaced of him in Monaco with Massey's CEO.
Starcher also called on a third member of the five-member court, Justice Brent Benjamin, to recuse himself. Starcher cited the multimillion-dollar campaign bankrolled by Don Blankenship, Massey's president, chairman and chief executive, to help Benjamin get elected in 2004.
As acting chief justice, Benjamin appointed Marion County Circuit Judge Fred Fox to replace Starcher but did not otherwise respond to Starcher's statement.
Massey had repeatedly sought Starcher's recusal over his public comments critical of Massey, Blankenship and his 2004 campaign. Among other remarks, Starcher has called Blankenship a "clown" and said that "Massey has not been a good corporate citizen."
On Friday, Starcher acknowledged "a reasonable appearance of impropriety" exists but called the allegations from Blankenship and his allies "the height of irony."
Starcher's statement invoked the 2006 vacation photos showing Blankenship in Monaco with Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard. The pictures precipitated Maynard's exit from the case last month.
"The pernicious effects of Mr. Blankenship's bestowal of his personal wealth, political tactics and 'friendship' have created a cancer in the affairs of this Court," Starcher wrote.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 19, 2008 09:43 AM
Posted to Courts in general