Helena, Montana – In a growing national effort to challenge perceived judicial bias in climate-related litigation, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has joined 21 other attorneys general in urging Congress to broaden its ongoing investigation into judicial influence. The coalition is calling for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to scrutinize the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) for publishing what they describe as a “biased” climate change manual for judges.
Attorneys General Voice Deep Concern Over New Judicial Guide
In a letter addressed Tuesday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, the attorneys general raised serious concerns over the FJC’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. They allege that the manual has shifted from its original intent—to offer neutral scientific guidance to judges—into an advocacy piece that could “rig case outcomes in favor of one side.”
According to the letter, the manual heavily relies on the expertise of three climate change activists who are currently involved in environmental litigation, raising questions about impartiality. These individuals, the letter claims, have a direct stake in ongoing lawsuits and have provided expert testimony, thereby disqualifying them from offering objective guidance to the judiciary.
“Not surprisingly given the strong biases of its authors, reviewers, and sources, the climate change chapter presents as settled the very methodologies that plaintiffs rely on to impose liability on fossil-fuel defendants,” the attorneys general wrote. They further argued that the manual lacks opposing scientific viewpoints and fails to disclose the personal or professional interests of its contributors.
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Previous Investigation Into Climate Advocacy Groups
This letter follows a similar effort led by Attorney General Knudsen in August 2025, when he and a coalition urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pull federal funding from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). At that time, the group raised concerns about the ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project, which they accused of promoting an “agenda-driven” climate narrative disguised as judicial education.
Although the Climate Judiciary Project claims to provide “objective and trusted” information to the courts, critics argue that the group has hosted over 50 events and trained more than 2,000 judges based on its own climate science framework, potentially influencing court decisions in favor of environmental plaintiffs.
“Like ELI’s Climate Judiciary Project that the Committee is investigating, the new chapter presents a highly biased, agenda-driven view favoring radical interests pursuing lawsuits against producers and users of traditional forms of fossil fuel energy,” the letter continued.
States Rally Behind the Call for Accountability
The effort is being led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, with support from Attorneys General in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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Together, the coalition is urging the House Judiciary Committee to widen the scope of its current investigation, originally focused on the Environmental Law Institute, to include the Federal Judicial Center’s climate-related materials.
The letter marks another chapter in the ongoing debate over the role of climate science in the courtroom and how legal guidance should be shaped in cases that could have broad implications for the energy sector.
