High Court Rejects Greenhouse Gas "Nuisance" Suit

A unanimous Supreme Court said Monday that states cannot ask federal courts to limit power companies’ carbon dioxide emissions under the theory that the emissions are a “nuisance.” Several northeastern states had claimed the gases cause global temperatures to rise, threatening ecosystems as well as other harms.

The Court recognized that there have been lawsuits in the past where states have used federal common law to stop one state from dumping garbage or otherwise polluting another state’s air and water, but said that a 2007 Supreme Court decision giving the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gases means that it is now up to the EPA, not federal courts, to set limits on emissions.

The states filed their lawsuits in 2004, when the EPA was arguing it did not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, but the Court said that its 2007 ruling meant that the EPA now has exclusive authority over the emissions.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion in the case of American Electric Power v. Connecticut.

Kagan Takes Seat On High Court

Elena Kagan took her seat on the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time today. Kagan is the 100th Associate Justice of the court, and today’s ceremony was attended by President Obama; former Justices Stevens, O’Connor, and Souter; and several members of Congress.

Kagan officially took the oath of office in a private ceremony on August 7, two days after her confirmation by the Senate, so that she could immediately begin her duties as Justice, but today’s ceremony was the first time she wore a judicial robe and took her seat on the bench in open court.

In the courtroom today, Kagan sat in a chair used by Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 19th century, as has every incoming Justice since 1972. Chief Justice John Roberts then administered the oath and Justice Kagan was escorted to her seat on the far right side of the bench. After the special session of the court adjourned, Roberts escorted Kagan down the front steps of the building for photographs.

The Supreme Court’s 2010 term begins Monday, October 4.