The irony over ruling on the future of its own courthouse was not lost on the California Supreme Court justices.
Just a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger begged the high court to intervene in a controversial plan to sale 24 state buildings to a private company, all the justices have recused themselves from any potential hearing.
The decision was based on the fact that the Supreme Court building in San Francisco is one of the 24 that would be sold in any deal.
Instead a seven-member panel made up of appeals court judges will be appointed to hear the case. The justices will be selected alphabetically this week from a list of appeals court judges, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Earlier this month a judge from the 6th District Court of Appeal in San Jose blocked the move to sell the buildings.
The governor argued that selling the buildings for a net profit to the state of $1.2 billion will help save California in the long term. But critics argue the plan makes no sense since California will be forced to lease the buildings right back.
On Monday, Schwarzenegger's attorneys filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to act before the buildings were lost to California forever.
