September 19, 2005

On Thursday U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan dismissed the much-publicized suit (more, more) filed by eight state attorneys general, including Lockyer (Calif.), Spitzer (N.Y.), and Blumenthal (Ct.), against five electric utilities seeking to impose more restrictive greenhouse-gas controls than those prescribed by federal clean-air law. "Cases presenting political questions are consigned to the political branches that are accountable to the people, not to the judiciary," wrote the judge. For a foreshadowing of the result, see Aug. 16. For another recent high-profile case in which Judge Preska was obliged to remind plaintiff's counsel of the difference between courts and legislatures, see Apr. 12 (Dickie Scruggs's nonprofit hospital litigation).