For years, the West Virginia Supreme Court has been riled by stories of pay-to-play politics and access and influence by wealthy executives.First, Don Blankenship, the head of Massey Energy, sunk $3 million of his own money to get Justice Brett Benjamin elected to the high court. Massey had major business before the court that could cost the company $50 million if it ever left the appeals process. As Slate is reporting this morning, Blankenship's money represented 60 percent of the total Benjamin spent on his race. Indeed, $3 million is $1.66 per West Virginian.Many advocates have said due to Blankenship's role in getting Benjamin elected, he should recuse himself from the case. Benjamin has refused. Not too long after that, Chief Justice Spike Maynard went vacationing with Blankenship in Monte Carlo. Once a picture surfaced of the two of them vacationing together (at right), West Virginians were not pleased. They ousted Maynard in a Republican primary earlier this year.  And now, the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to step in to decide if Benjamin's refusal to recuse himself  "violates the constitutional right to a fair hearing before an impartial decision maker." Groups like the American Bar Association and the Brennan Center for Justice have weighed in.  "If the public believes that judges can be bought," Keith Fisher, a lawyer for the ABA told the New York Times, "that is really poisonous and undermines public confidence in an independent judiciary."If money from those with interests before the court are flooding the campaign coffers of judicial candidates, it's understandable that people would be concerned about the independence of the judiciary.What they really need in West Virginia is Clean Elections, or full public financing of elections, for state judicial races. North Carolina is in its third cycle with a robust judicial public financing system and candidates and voters remain supportive.  If you'd like to take action, check out the work of West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections and sign their petition!