Over at Bench Memos, Matt Franck points out his response to an op-ed published by Joyce Appleby, apparently asking the question of whether Catholic justices should recuse themselves from cases reaching the Supreme Court on issues where the Catholic Church has taken a position.  Matt Franck, ably demolishes her argument, but the whole exchange kind of planted a thought in my mind:  I think the Chief Justice must have missed this one in Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co.

I’m sure the depth of a judge’s religious convictions would have seemed an obvious 41st consideration in retrospect.