Biased? Probably Not: How the Rule in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. Affects Texas Administrative Law Judges and the Elected Appellate Judiciary

32 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2011 Last revised: 27 Apr 2011

See all articles by Adam Whitten

Adam Whitten

Texas Tech University School of Law

Abstract

In “Biased? Probably Not: How the Rule in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. Affects Texas Administrative Law Judges and the Elected Appellate Judiciary,” author Adam Whitten describes the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Caperton, which requires judicial recusal when there is a likelihood of bias. Whitten then expands on the facts and history of the case, and follows with a discussion of the dissenting opinion and the case in light of other similar cases such as Citizens United.

Additionally, Whitten discusses the authority and duty of Texas Administrative Law Judges and the role of the elected judiciary. The author proposes several solutions to the problems with judicial bias, including the elimination of agency hearing officers in contested cases and amending the government code to allow the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to hear cases involving State Office of Administrative (SOAH) judges. Whitten also describes a possible amendment to the circumstances for recusal which focuses on campaign contributions to the elected judiciary.

JEL Classification: K19

Suggested Citation

Whitten, Adam, Biased? Probably Not: How the Rule in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. Affects Texas Administrative Law Judges and the Elected Appellate Judiciary. Texas Tech Law School Research Paper No. 2011-08, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1811050. or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1811050

Adam Whitten (Contact Author)

Texas Tech University School of Law ( email )

1802 Hartford
Lubbock, TX 79409
United States

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