Why the Hell Is Justice Alito Excused from a Key Supreme Court Decision Next Week?

3 min readThe hills are alive with the sound of people scrambling away from the president and his administration. Incumbent Republican congresscritters. Pundits. Ordinary MAGA citizens tracked down by TV cameras in grocery stores and gas stations. But Supreme Court justices? From SCOTUSBlog:The Supreme Court on Monday announced that Justice Samuel Alito will not continue to participate in Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a significant dispute that will be argued in just one week, on Monday, October 5, the first day of the 2026–27 term. Scott Harris, the clerk of the Supreme Court, revealed Alito’s last-minute recusal in a short letter to advocates involved in the case. Harris’ note does not provide an explanation for the decision, saying simply that “Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate.” In Suncor Energy, the court is considering the use of state-level tort claims to hold oil and gas companies financially liable for their alleged role in exacerbating climate change. The case involves officials in the Boulder, Colorado, area, but it is likely to have nationwide ramifications, because similar lawsuits have been filed in states across the country.There a lot here to slake the speculative thirst of the glass-half-full folks. It could be Alito stepping off the Trump train. It could be Alito’s recognition that Beggar’s Day is coming for the Supreme Court should the Democrats gain control of the Congress. It could be that Chief Justice John Roberts is finally fed up with the free-range, lucrative extracurriculars of his fellow justices. Hell, it could even mean that Alito has grown a conscience, although that’s not the way I’m betting.The case itself is an important one touching upon the climate crisis. It was an earlier one—Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish—during which a group of climate activists detailed Alito’s connection with the extraction industries, forcing him to bail on that case too.[T]he lack of explanation in Monday’s letter is still somewhat notable given the amount of detail provided when Harris announced in January—less than a week before oral argument—that Alito would not continue to participate in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, a dispute over the circumstances in which a federal contractor can transfer a case from state to federal court that also involved oil and gas companies. Harris pointed to Alito’s “financial interest in ConocoPhillips, the parent corporation for Burlington Resources Oil and Gas Company.” Harris explained that “Justice Alito initially decided not to recuse because on June 2, 2025, Burlington was dismissed as a petitioner in this Court under Rule 46.1 after Burlington advised the Court by letter that it was ‘withdrawing’ from the petition and that ‘neither Burlington Resources nor ConocoPhillips will be a party to (or have any other involvement in) the above-referenced case.’ Later briefing, however, noted that Burlington remained a party in the district court.”I think it’s crazy that Supreme Court justices have “financial interests” in corporations at all. These people make over $300,000 annually on lifetime appointments, and they also get that total as lifetime pensions. They can get fat on book contracts and royalties. They even have a private basketball court. As with the absurdity of allowing members of Congress to trade stocks, the justices get enough from the rest of us without becoming financially interested in oil companies. Let them live on their salaries, the way those poor saps at the gas stations do.