5th Circuit judges looking at drilling moratorium have oil ties too, report says

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The Obama administration's appeal of a decision blocking a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico comes before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Thursday. The administration likely wished for a three-judge panel without ties to the oil and gas industry. But such a panel can be hard to find at the 5th Circuit.

Just in time for the hearing in Hornbeck Offshore Services v. Salazar, the Alliance for Justice has issued a report highlighting the past work and present investments of 5th Circuit judges, including the three serving on the July 8 panel.

The report by the liberal advocacy group, titled "Judicial Gusher: The Fifth Circuit's Ties to Oil," adds up not only the circuit judges' financial interests, but also the kinds of clients they represented in earlier private practice, their attendance at pro-business seminars and other connections.

Among its findings: Two judges on the panel, Jerry Smith and W. Eugene Davis, repeatedly represented the oil and gas industries while in private practice. Smith counted among his clients such big names as the companies now known as Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co. and Sunoco Inc. (Both men were appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan so these are not recent cases.)

In their 2008 financial disclosure reports, Davis listed $15,000 to $65,000 in investments in gas and oil, and Smith listed none. The third judge on the panel, James Dennis, has extensive financial holdings in at least 18 companies in the energy industry worth between $15,000 and $300,000.

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Smith, Jerry Edwin, Nominated by Ronald Reagan on June 2, 1987
Davis, W. Eugene, Nominated by Ronald Reagan on November 1, 1983
Dennis, James L., Nominated by William J. Clinton on January 31, 1995