Overview
- A coalition including the Judicial Crisis Network and the Heritage Foundation sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday asking for hearings to examine whether Justice Elena Kagan violated federal ethics rules by remaining on the Suncor docket.
- The groups base their request on Kagan's foreword to the Fourth Edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which encouraged judges to use the manual when handling climate science; the manual's climate chapter was later withdrawn by the Federal Judicial Center after complaints.
- The letter accuses Kagan of public prejudgment because the withdrawn chapter discussed 'attribution' methods that link greenhouse gas emissions to specific harms, a scientific approach plaintiffs use in climate liability suits.
- Kagan did not recuse herself when the Court granted review of Suncor in February 2026 and she remains listed on the case, while there has been no public action by the Senate Judiciary Committee in response to the July letter.
- Suncor v. Boulder County could determine whether state and local law can hold fossil fuel companies financially liable for their contributions to climate change, and any committee probe or recusal decision could shape how the Court and lower courts treat scientific evidence in future climate cases.