Like most Americans, you may think attempting to influence a judge is a crime.
Evidently, that’s not the case, so long as you’re “training” them on an agenda-driven issue like, say, climate change.
And that’s exactly what a left-wing, Washington, D.C.-based judicial education program has been quietly doing for years.
“The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Law Institute (ELI) created the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) in 2018, establishing a first-of-its-kind resource to provide ‘reliable, up-to-date information’ about climate change litigation, according to the group,” Fox News Digital reports. “The project’s reach has extended to various state and federal courts, including powerful appellate courts, and comes as various cities and states pursue high-profile litigation against the oil industry.”
One of those states is, predictably, California.
“In September, we announced a lawsuit against Big Oil for lying about climate change,” Governor Gavin Newsom’s office stated on Saturday. “After decades of deception, we’re taking 5 major oil companies to court for destroying our planet and lying about the dangers of fossil fuels.”
In September, we announced a lawsuit against Big Oil for lying about climate change.
After decades of deception, we’re taking 5 major oil companies to court for destroying our planet and lying about the dangers of fossil fuels.pic.twitter.com/hu1GlnpwNC
— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) December 30, 2023
As BizPac Review previously reported, those companies include BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, as well as the American Petroleum Institute.
It’s exactly the sort of case the CJP has been prepping judges to handle.
The group boasts on its website that it has created 13 curriculum modules, has 21 “contributing experts,” and has indoctri–… errrr… educated more than 1,700 judges since its inception in 2018.
“As the body of climate litigation grows, judges must consider complex scientific and legal questions, many of which are developing rapidly,” explains CJP. “To address these issues, the Climate Judiciary Project of the Environmental Law Institute is collaborating with leading national judicial education institutions to meet judges’ need for basic familiarity with climate science methods and concepts.”
“We are developing and disseminating a climate science and law curriculum and are conducting seminars and educational programs, in collaboration with leading climate scientists and legal experts,” CJP states. “The goal of our project is to provide neutral, objective information to the judiciary about the science of climate change as it is understood by the expert scientific community and relevant to current and future litigation.”
According to Fox News Digital, “multiple judges serve as advisers at CJP, potentially having an impact on its curriculum and modules.”
“For example,” the outlet continues, “Ronald Robie, an associate justice for the Third District of the California Courts of Appeal, Judge Michael Simon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and David Tatel, the recently retired former senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, have all acted as advisers for the project.”
A “review of an Environmental Law Institute policy brief summarizing past events indicates CJP has reached judges from across the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th federal circuits, some of which are based in New York City, Boston and Puerto Rico. The group further boasts that it hosted a plenary session with approximately 100 judges in attendance at the annual mid-winter meeting of the Ninth Federal Circuit in 2019,” Fox New Digital reports.
New podcast ep! #COP28 centers the Global Stocktake, the first-ever assessment of the progress made on global climate action. Listen to learn about #JustTransition and the #equity considerations of meeting the goals of the #ParisAgreement. pic.twitter.com/DIVHeWFYzA
— Environmental Law Institute (@ELIORG) December 5, 2023
“Spurred by government actions and court decisions — and accompanied by a drumbeat of growing impacts — a rule of law of climate change is emerging,” the brief reads. “ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project is preparing the bench to understand the science and ensure justice in the new legal environment.”
One model, titled “Government Action and Climate Science,” examines “how climate science informs judicial review of government regulations and administrative decisions” and “explains how courts can use scientific data to evaluate legal obligations related to pollution control, environmental impact assessment, permitting, land use decisions, natural resource management, and endangered species protection.”
Another module, called “Climate Justice,” claims that “Communities of color, low-income communities, urban communities, migrants, Indigenous peoples, and those with underlying health conditions are among the groups most affected by extreme climate exposure, and these disparities will become more pronounced as the world continues to warm.”
“Communities of color frequently experience disproportionate impacts from extreme weather events beyond vulnerabilities related to income or susceptibility tied to underlying health conditions,” the judges learn. “Individuals’ race has consistently predicted the severity of the hurricane aftermath experienced by survivors. Preexisting social injustices are exacerbated when a storm occurs, as evidenced in racial disparities between the level of preparedness leading up to the disaster and in the following recovery efforts.”
“Overall, according to its most recent tax filings, the Environmental Law Institute reported a total of $8.6 million in revenue — the vast majority of which came from outside funding sources and program revenue — and $14.6 million in total assets last year,” Fox News Digital reports. “In recent years, the group has raised millions of dollars from left-wing nonprofits like the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Oak Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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