Justice Alito Recuses Himself From Climate Change Case

In the past, Justice Samuel Alito has refused to recuse himself from cases where critics demanded that he do so. And that seemed to be the case here as well as recently as May, when Alito rejected calls for him to recuse himself.

Facing calls to step aside in a major upcoming case involving climate change, conservative Justice Samuel Alito is pushing back, with a Supreme Court spokeswoman saying he has no conflict that would require recusal.

“Justice Alito does not have a financial interest in any party” involved in the case, the court spokeswoman said in a statement provided to NBC News. Alito was advised by the court’s legal counsel that “his recusal is not required,” she added.

A group of left-leaning groups on Thursday had asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Alito’s involvement in the case, citing in part his stock holdings in energy companies.

But today, Alito announced he would in fact be recusing himself on this case, which involves climate change.

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will no longer participate in a major climate change case after facing calls that he recuse himself because of his stock holdings in oil companies.

The new development was disclosed in a letter dated Monday and sent to lawyers involved in the case, with no reason given.

“Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case,” the letter said.

So what is this case? It's called Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, and as the name suggests it involves some officials in Boulder County, Colorado. 

The climate issue will be the first case argued at the Supreme Court as it opens its new term next Monday. It deals with whether Boulder, Colorado, may sue Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil for damages caused by climate change, or whether state tort laws are preempted by federal law and separation of powers principles in the Constitution.

The court’s decision in that case could have broad implications for numerous other lawsuits filed by state and local governments seeking billions of dollars in damages for climate change.

No one seems sure what this recusal will mean for the case. Obviously if the remaining justices stick to their corners, that would still be a 5-3 decision and a win for conservatives which would probably mean a dismissal of the case. 

But if one conservative justice defected you would have a 4-4 tie. That would mean the lower court's ruling would stand. In this case the lower court is the Colorado Supreme Court which affirmed a Boulder Court's decision not to dismiss the case brought against Suncor and Exxon. 

So if that were the outcome (a 4-4 tie), the case would proceed to trial. However, a tie would be seen as not setting a national precedent, so it would not necessarily lead to the assumption that similar cases filed in other counties or states were covered by the Supreme Court's decision.

The groups pushing Justice Alito to recuse himself are the usual suspects. Here's a list of signatories to a letter they sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee back in May.

• Court Accountability
• People’s Parity Project
• Revolving Door Project
• Take Back the Court Action Fund
• True North Research
• Center for Progressive Reform
• National Women's Law Center Action Fund
• Alliance for Justice
• Law Students for Climate Accountability
• League of Conservation Voters
• Center for Biological Diversity
• Center for Media and Democracy
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Sciencecorps
• Earthworks
• Friends of the Earth US
• People Power United
• Free Speech For People
• Equality California
• Secure Elections Network
• Demand Progress
• Action Together NEPA
• 198 methods
• Democratic Messaging Project
• Essential Information
• Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
• Brave New Films
• Feminist Majority
• Next 100 Coalition
• MoveOn

I've only heard of about half of these groups. Presumably, they wouldn't be doing this without a game plan, so it's a good bet they have some reason to hope a tie is possible. Again, I don't see how or have any idea which conservative justice they see as the weak link but maybe we'll get more on that in the coming days.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

Help us fight back against the Democrats and Soros-backed DAs that refuse to enforce our laws to hold criminals accountable. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.