Starcher recuses himself from Massey case

Calls on Benjamin to do the same.

As The Herald-Dispatch reported Friday:

CHARLESTON -- A second Supreme Court justice has disqualified himself in a highly controversial case involving one of the state's most powerful coal companies, while simultaneously launching an assault on the company's head man.

Justice Larry V. Starcher joined Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard in bowing out of the re-hearing of a case that, at the circuit level, had awarded a $76 million verdict against Massey Energy. That verdict was initially overturned by a 3-2 margin by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in November, with Maynard and fellow Justice Brent Benjamin -- who also has been asked to step aside -- voting in favor of the coal giant. Starcher was in the minority.

Starcher released a statement Friday saying he is stepping aside "hoping that Justice Benjamin does the same" in order to restore faith in the state's high court.

In his notice of recusal, Starcher admitted he had "become part of the problem" in the case because of his opinions on Massey Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship.