Overview
- The FJC informed West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey on Feb. 6 that it had omitted the climate science chapter, following a Jan. 29 demand from 27 Republican attorneys general.
- The deleted section, authored by Columbia-affiliated researchers Jessica Wentz and Radley Horton, summarized mainstream science and attribution methods intended to guide courts evaluating expert evidence.
- The manual’s PDF now shows fewer pages and an appendix note recording the Feb. 6 deletion, while Justice Elena Kagan’s foreword still references climate science.
- Republican officials and allied groups hailed the move as a win for impartiality, as climate scientists and commentators criticized the withdrawal as political pressure removing vetted guidance.
- The decision arrives as climate liability cases advance in courts, including two before the Supreme Court this term, leaving judges without official FJC guidance even as the National Academies hosts the original text.