Oil companies and their allies are trying out a new legal defense tactic: Blame the judge. The claims — which include accusations that judges are biased — come as a flood of lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry heads to trial, writes Lesley Clark. From Hoboken, N.J., to Honolulu, dozens of cities, counties and states want to hold the industry accountable in cases accusing them of misleading the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels and contributing to global warming. The lawsuits have a ways to go, but could force oil companies to pony up hundreds of billions of dollars for harming the public — much like tobacco and opioid manufacturers before them. Supreme Court letdown: Oil industry attorneys argue that the lawsuits are a distraction that will do little to address climate change. But the Supreme Court rejected their bid earlier this year to squash climate lawsuits on procedural grounds. So the fossil fuel industry has shifted its attention to judges. In Rhode Island, for example, oil companies say the judge hearing their case created the “appearance of bias” by citing two news stories about climate change that had not been entered into the record. In Hawaii, a conservative group is casting doubt on the objectivity of a judge because he’s involved in an organization that provides legal education on climate science, among other topics. Winning tactic? Questioning state judges’ objectivity doesn’t appear to be making much headway for the industry so far. In Rhode Island, Superior Court Judge William Carnes Jr. indicated that he will not grant the industry’s request to reverse his decision to allow the state to investigate oil industry operations. And in the Hawaii case, the accusations of bias (and accompanying media campaign) made by the conservative group Energy Policy Advocates have not entered trial deliberations. The group takes issue with state Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald’s involvement with the Environmental Law Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit that runs legal seminars. But the institute’s board includes oil and gas industry representatives, undercutting the argument that it is stacked in favor of the plaintiffs. And when Recktenwald invited both parties in the lawsuit to raise concerns about his plans to speak at a seminar organized by the institute, neither side objected.
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