Hugh M. Caperton, et al. v. a. T. Massey Coal Company, Inc., et al.

Decided June 8, 2009. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 08-22 · 556 U.S. 868 (2009) · Cited 1,119 times

Holding

In all the circumstances of this case, due process requires recusal.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Aetna Life Insurance v. Lavoie · 475 U.S. 813 (1986)
• Tumey v. Ohio · 273 U.S. 510 (1927)
• In Re Murchison. · 349 U.S. 133 (1955)
• Mayberry v. Pennsylvania · 400 U.S. 455 (1971)
• United States v. Halper · 490 U.S. 435 (1989)
• Ward v. Village of Monroeville · 409 U.S. 57 (1972)
• Withrow v. Larkin · 421 U.S. 35 (1975)
• Hudson v. United States · 522 U.S. 93 (1997)
• Republican Party of Minnesota v. White · 536 U.S. 765 (2002)
• Bracy v. Gramley · 520 U.S. 899 (1997)
• Vieth v. Jubelirer · 541 U.S. 267 (2004)
• County of Sacramento v. Lewis · 523 U.S. 833 (1998)
• Ungar v. Sarafite · 376 U.S. 575 (1964)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Liteky v. United States · 510 U.S. 540 (1994)
• Gibson v. Berryhill · 411 U.S. 564 (1973)
• Helvering v. Mitchell · 303 U.S. 391 (1938)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Cement Institute · 333 U.S. 683 (1948)
• Taylor v. Hayes · 418 U.S. 488 (1974)
• Marshall v. Jerrico, Inc. · 446 U.S. 238 (1980)
• Connally v. Georgia · 429 U.S. 245 (1977)
• Bridges v. California · 314 U.S. 252 (1941)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Williams v. Pennsylvania · 579 U.S. 1 (2016)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
• Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan · 564 U.S. 117 (2011)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2009). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).