CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. Supreme Court decided today to hear an appeal of whether West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin should have stepped aside in a case involving the company of a campaign donor who spent millions of dollars to unseat Benjamin's opponent in the 2004 election.

Benjamin twice voted in the majority in 3-2 decisions to overturn a $50 million verdict originally awarded to Harman Mining Corp. in 2002 against Massey Energy Co. With interest, that verdict is now estimated at $77 million.

Massey executive Don Blankenship spent more than $3 million in the 2004 election that secured Benjamin's seat on West Virginia's only appeals court.

After Massey appealed the original verdict in 2006, Harman and its owner Hugh Caperton repeatedly asked Benjamin to step aside from the case. In every instance, Benjamin refused to recuse himself.

In July, Harman and Caperton petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether Benjamin should have stepped aside. Today, the day after a second editorial in the New York Times encouraged the high court to hear the case, the justices accepted the case to the court's docket.

Caperton said he was extremely pleased that the high court had agreed to hear the case, saying it was a "great day."

"In this country, money has begun to pervade and permeate every election that's held. And I agree that it's the right of each citizen to support their candidate. But you can't have Supreme Court seats being propped up by millions of dollars from one individual or group," he said. "It makes the appearance of impropriety so great that normal citizens like myself lose faith in the judicial system."

In an e-mail Friday, West Virginia Supreme Court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy wrote, "It is the policy of Justice Brent Benjamin not to comment on matters pending before the Court or the U.S. Supreme Court."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The U.S. Supreme Court decided today to hear an appeal of whether West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin should have stepped aside in a case involving the company of a campaign donor who spent millions of dollars to unseat Benjamin's opponent in the 2004 election.

Benjamin twice voted in the majority in 3-2 decisions to overturn a $50 million verdict originally awarded to Harman Mining Corp. in 2002 against Massey Energy Co. With interest, that verdict is now estimated at $77 million.

Massey executive Don Blankenship spent more than $3 million in the 2004 election that secured Benjamin's seat on West Virginia's only appeals court.

After Massey appealed the original verdict in 2006, Harman and its owner Hugh Caperton repeatedly asked Benjamin to step aside from the case. In every instance, Benjamin refused to recuse himself.

In July, Harman and Caperton petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether Benjamin should have stepped aside. Today, the day after a second editorial in the New York Times encouraged the high court to hear the case, the justices accepted the case to the court's docket.

Caperton said he was extremely pleased that the high court had agreed to hear the case, saying it was a "great day."

"In this country, money has begun to pervade and permeate every election that's held. And I agree that it's the right of each citizen to support their candidate. But you can't have Supreme Court seats being propped up by millions of dollars from one individual or group," he said. "It makes the appearance of impropriety so great that normal citizens like myself lose faith in the judicial system."

In an e-mail Friday, West Virginia Supreme Court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy wrote, "It is the policy of Justice Brent Benjamin not to comment on matters pending before the Court or the U.S. Supreme Court."