Scientists protest deletion of climate science chapter from official reference manual for united states judges

Over two dozen scientists protest the Federal Judicial Center's decision to delete climate science guidance for judges following pressure from state attorneys general.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 6, 2026, 10:30 AM EST

Institutional Role of the Manual

The Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, first established in 1994, is a collaborative effort between the Federal Judicial Center and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It serves as a foundational resource for federal and state judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to interpret complex technical data, ranging from forensic DNA to epidemiology and artificial intelligence. Since its inception, the manual has been cited more than 1,300 times in judicial proceedings. Until recently, the fourth edition of the manual included a peer reviewed chapter dedicated to climate science, designed to provide a baseline explanation of environmental data for the judiciary.

Political Pressure and Legal Challenges

The chapter was targeted in a January 29 letter led by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey and signed by 26 other state attorneys general. The officials argued that the fourth edition placed the judiciary on one side of a hotly disputed legal question regarding climate attribution. They specifically criticized the authors for relying on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) rather than a recent Department of Energy (DOE) report. The attorneys general accused the chapter’s authors of framing climate litigation against fossil fuel producers as a primary solution for environmental issues, leading them to demand the immediate removal of the section to maintain judicial neutrality.

Scientific Critique of DOE Report

While the attorneys general advocated for the inclusion of the DOE climate report published last year, that document has faced intense criticism from the scientific community. Experts have flagged numerous inaccuracies and misleading claims within the DOE report, which was produced by a panel of five climate change skeptics. A court ruling last month determined that this secretive panel had violated the law during the report's production. In contrast, the IPCC remains the internationally recognized authority for climate assessment. Despite these scientific distinctions, Judge Robin Rosenberg, Director of the Federal Judicial Center, announced on February 6 that the climate chapter had been removed from the manual.