Justice Samuel Alito will not participate in the Supreme Court case pitting Boulder County against two major oil companies, the court announced Monday, just a week before justices are set to hear arguments on Oct. 5.
Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris notified the parties in a letter that Alito had decided he “will not continue to participate” in Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. The letter offered no explanation for the decision.
The case originated with a lawsuit filed by Boulder County and other Colorado local governments against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil. The local governments are attempting to use state law to seek damages from the companies over their alleged role in climate change. Suncor and Exxon have asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether federal law bars local governments from bringing such claims in the first place.
Alito’s recusal comes after months of public scrutiny over his continued involvement in the case. In May, a coalition of 30 organizations petitioned the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate his participation, citing his personal holdings in oil and gas companies. The groups also pointed out an inconsistency: Alito had recused himself from an earlier Supreme Court decision involving the same companies and dispute, yet took part in February when the justices agreed to hear this latest appeal.
At that time, a Supreme Court spokeswoman told NBC News that Alito held no financial interest in any party to the case and that the court’s legal counsel had advised him recusal was not required. Monday’s letter gives no indication of what changed his position since then.
The Supreme Court’s code of conduct directs a justice to step aside when a reasonable person aware of the facts might question that justice’s impartiality, and it names financial interest in a party or in the subject matter of a case as a recognized ground for recusal. The court has not stated whether either circumstance factored into Alito’s decision in the Boulder County case.
This is not the first time Alito has withdrawn from an oil industry case shortly before scheduled arguments. Earlier this year, he stepped aside from a separate case involving the industry, and the court at that time cited his financial interest in ConocoPhillips, whose subsidiary remained a party in the lower court proceedings even after Alito’s withdrawal from the Supreme Court matter. No such explanation accompanied Monday’s announcement in the Boulder County case.
Arguments in Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County remain scheduled for Oct. 5, the opening day of the Supreme Court’s new term.
