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CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Supreme Court released figures Monday indicating that Chief Justice Brent Benjamin had voted against the financial interests of Massey Energy Co. and its subsidiaries 81.6 percent of the time.

However, in cases decided by a single vote by the five-justice court, Benjamin sided with Massey most of the time.

The court released the numbers on the eve of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court over whether Benjamin should have recused himself from a case involving Massey. The company's chief executive, Don Blankenship, spent more than $3 million of his own money to help elect Benjamin in 2004.

According to the court's figures, Benjamin voted against the financial interests of Massey or its subsidiaries in 15.5 out of 19 cases (the half representing a case where Benjamin concurred with as well as dissented from the court's opinion), or 81.6 percent of the time.

However, this figure includes cases decided by a wide enough margin that the rulings would have remained the same had Benjamin switched his vote.

In the three cases decided by a 3-2 tally, Benjamin voted with Massey or its subsidiaries' financial interests two out of three times in the cases cited by court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy.

When Benjamin voted against Massey, in Jackson v. Power Mountain Coal Co. in April 2008, Massey won anyway because three other justices voted in Massey's favor.

Bundy said the court's list examined only votes in final decisions, not every vote on every motion.

According to a Gazette analysis of court records, in close votes on whether to accept Massey-related cases to the court's docket, Benjamin sided with Massey four out of five times.

For more political news, click here

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Supreme Court released figures Monday indicating that Chief Justice Brent Benjamin had voted against the financial interests of Massey Energy Co. and its subsidiaries 81.6 percent of the time.

However, in cases decided by a single vote by the five-justice court, Benjamin sided with Massey most of the time.

The court released the numbers on the eve of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court over whether Benjamin should have recused himself from a case involving Massey. The company's chief executive, Don Blankenship, spent more than $3 million of his own money to help elect Benjamin in 2004.

According to the court's figures, Benjamin voted against the financial interests of Massey or its subsidiaries in 15.5 out of 19 cases (the half representing a case where Benjamin concurred with as well as dissented from the court's opinion), or 81.6 percent of the time.

However, this figure includes cases decided by a wide enough margin that the rulings would have remained the same had Benjamin switched his vote.

In the three cases decided by a 3-2 tally, Benjamin voted with Massey or its subsidiaries' financial interests two out of three times in the cases cited by court spokeswoman Jennifer Bundy.

When Benjamin voted against Massey, in Jackson v. Power Mountain Coal Co. in April 2008, Massey won anyway because three other justices voted in Massey's favor.

Bundy said the court's list examined only votes in final decisions, not every vote on every motion.

According to a Gazette analysis of court records, in close votes on whether to accept Massey-related cases to the court's docket, Benjamin sided with Massey four out of five times.

Among these petitions, Benjamin twice joined 3-2 pro-Massey majorities. He has never voted in a majority against Massey when the court was deciding whether to hear a Massey-related case.

In 2004, Blankenship spent about $3 million of his own money, much of it funneled through a 527 group called And For the Sake of the Kids, to help Benjamin defeat incumbent justice Warren McGraw.

Benjamin later twice voted in the 3-2 majority to overturn a $50 million verdict in favor of Harman Mining Corp. awarded by a Boone County jury in 2002. With interest, that verdict is now worth an estimated $82 million.

Harman and its owner, Hugh Caperton, twice asked Benjamin to step aside from the case. His refusal to do so is the subject of Harman's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will be argued in front of the justices today.

Harman's lawyers and others have argued that Benjamin should have recused himself because Blankenship's large campaign spending created an appearance of impropriety.

Massey and its supporters question whether a limit can be fairly imposed on contributions in judicial elections, which take place in 38 states, including West Virginia.

Bundy said she began compiling the list in response to press queries about Benjamin's voting record. The initial queries came roughly a month ago, but the list was not completed until over the weekend, she said.

"It took us weeks to put that list together," she said, "because we wanted to be sure that it was complete and accurate."

Bundy compiled the list by searching court records for cases involving each of Massey's subsidiaries as listed on the company's most recent filing with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, she said.

Reach Andrew Clevenger at acleven...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1723.