On Thursday, climate advocacy group Our Children's Trust tried to breathe new life into the failed Juliana v. United States lawsuit, which blames climate change.
Supreme Court Petition
Climate change enthusiasts have filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court's decision in May to dismiss the case. They want the court to right the “egregious error” made by the Trump-appointed justices in their decision to dismiss the case.
Avery McRae, one of the plaintiffs, said:
Today, I ask the Supreme Court to correct the Ninth Circuit's abuse of a rule meant to protect the right of young citizens to sue their government. The rule of law and our constitutional democracy depend on it. If you care about justice, fundamental rights, and preserving our democracy, you care about Juliana. This case is about addressing the climate crisis and protecting fundamental rights like the right to life and the right to liberty. But it's also about ensuring access to justice. I ask the Supreme Court to rule in a way that our children, our grandchildren, and all future generations can be proud of. Let's go to court.
Juliana V. United States
The lawsuit, ostensibly brought by children, has been ongoing for nearly a decade and accuses the federal government of violating children's right to a clean environment by continuing to exploit fossil fuels to power the country. Our Children's Trust further accused the Department of Justice of using unscrupulous tactics to block the lawsuit.
According to the group's press release,
Across three presidential administrations, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has relentlessly pursued a strategy of using a rare and unusual legal tool, a petition for a writ of mandamus, against Judge Ann Aiken in Juliana….Such conduct undermines judicial integrity and threatens procedural fairness for citizen litigants….
“The Department of Justice has completely blocked our path to justice,” Sahara Valentine, 20, one of the young plaintiffs, told The New York Times. “It's really important for us to have a fair voice in court.”
Does it really matter to children to have a “fair voice” in court, or to the climate advocacy groups that are funding this effort?
What's particularly frustrating for Our Children's Trust is that the court that dismissed the case in May was the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a traditionally very liberal court.
Julia Olson, attorney and founder of Our Children's Trust, said:
Our petition to the Supreme Court is essential to correct this expansion of the Ninth Circuit's power and uphold the rule of law. It is important that the Supreme Court address this clear error and reaffirm its respect for its own order in Juliana, its precedents that bind lower courts, and Congress's limitations on the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction…”
In Juliana, Our Children's Trust is seeking similar results to those it got in Hawaii, where Gov. Josh Green caved in to the group in June and pledged to “decarbonize” Hawaii's transportation system.
Other actions
Olson has been lobbying the Biden administration over the summer to negotiate such a settlement.
In addition to its appeal to the Supreme Court, the group filed a petition with Justice Elena Kagan seeking a 60-day extension to the deadline for filing a writ of certiorari, which would allow the Supreme Court to reopen a case that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had dismissed.
Our Children's Trust also sent a letter to inform the Biden administration about a petition signed by some 350,000 climate fanatics calling for the Department of Justice to stop opposing the Juliana lawsuit. They enlisted the help of 350.org founder and well-known climate fanatic Bill McKibben, who said:
Today, I am proud to submit these petitions to the President and Attorney General in support of the 21 young people plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States. Our ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from pollution that harms our planet and our children are fundamental freedoms that we are in danger of losing.
The plaintiffs are presenting this lawsuit as a grassroots movement of young people who are concerned about the environment and genuinely scared for the future. But that's not true and their work lacks credibility. This is a lawsuit by well-funded lobbying groups hiding behind the backs of kids to get the courts to rule that climate change is a crisis.
