How Many Cases Would Sotomayor Actually get to Hear?
Hans von Spakovsky /
Besides being a poorly-reasoned decision that threatens independent political activity, the Supreme Court’s holding this week in Caperton v. Massey Coal Company should raise concerns among liberal advocacy groups that are trying to get Sonia Sotomayor confirmed. Taken to its logical conclusion, Caperton might require her to recuse herself in large number of cases. In Caperton, a liberal majority led by Justice Kennedy decided that a newly-elected West Virginia Supreme Court justice had to recuse himself from a case involving the Massey Coal Company. Massey’s CEO had spent $3 million dollars to attack the incumbent justice who had lost the election, someone the CEO thought was an activist judge who favored the plaintiff’s bar. (more…)