By a 7-2 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a Trump administration motion to stop a constitutional lawsuit filed by 21 young plaintiffs from going to trial. The lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, asserts that the federal government is depriving youth of rights to life, liberty and property through an energy system contributing to climate change.
Our Children’s Trust, the nonprofit supporting the case, has described the Department of Justice’s numerous legal maneuvers to thwart the case from going to trial as attempts to “circumvent the ordinary procedures of federal litigation.”
The trial was originally scheduled for October 29 in Oregon. The case has been winding its way through the courts for three years.
“Today we move forward,” Kelsey Juliana, 22, said in a statement. “I want to trust that we are truly on track for trial without having further delays, but these defendants are treating this case, our democracy, and the security of mine and future generations like it’s a game. I’m tired of playing this game.”
Lawyers have filed a request in District Court to get another trial date.
Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented against the majority opinion to deny the stay.
Dr James Hansen talks about Juliana v. United States in this interview with D.C. Media Group in 2015.
