Stepping Stone

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On the heels of recent events which have again heated up the debate about when and why judges should step away from hearing cases, a new state Supreme Court ruling could further fuel the fire.

The high court voted 5-2 in favor of a Heritage Farms, Inc., owned in part by former Justice Jon P. Wilcox, in its case against Markel Insurance Company.

Though Wilcox retired from the bench in 2007, he served with five of the current justices and also supported his successor, Justice Annette K. Ziegler, who authored the decision.

Joining Ziegler in the majority were Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Ann Walsh Bradley, N. Patrick Crooks and David T. Prosser, all of whom served with Wilcox for part or all of his 15 years on the court.

Justice Patience D. Roggensack, who also served with Wilcox, wrote the dissent in the case.Wilcox did not appear at the trial to avoid any impropriety, but certainly the majority of the court knows more about the former justice than most.

So did the justices who know Wilcox professionally, as well as personally reflect on their relationship with him during the trial? At some point, the state Supreme Court is expected to review two petitions related to judicial recusal, 08-16 and 08-25.

In January, the court postponed its April 20 hearing of the petitions, likely until after a ruling is made by the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a case involving many of the same issues.

Oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Caperton v A.T. Massey Coal Co., Docket No. 08-22, took place on March 3 and reports are that a ruling by that court could come by the end of June.