Lynda Marín
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Santa Cruz (CCLSC)
The first case of its kind
Juliana v the United States was filed in 2015 by 21 youth plaintiffs arguing that they have a right to a habitable planet. The case argues that the government’s actions that have caused climate change have violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty and property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources.
What’s happening now
For over eight years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has aggressively filed motions to delay or dismiss this landmark, constitutional climate case. On December 29, 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken ruled in favor of the Juliana 21, putting an end to the DOJ’s motions to dismiss the case, and allowing the youth plaintiffs to continue on the path to trial. The parties were set to receive trial dates from Judge Aiken on January 19, 2024.
However, on January 18, 2024, the DOJ filed yet another motion to stay the case, pending their petition to the Ninth Circuit, to which the attorneys for the youth plaintiffs responded by filing an opposition on February 1, 2024. Immediately after, on February 2, 2024, the Biden Administration’s DOJ filed another motion for a stay and a petition for a writ of mandamus at the Ninth Circuit. This is an extreme legal tactic used by the Trump Administration to subvert the normal legal process, prevent the case from proceeding to trial, and silence the voices of young people seeking to highlight the injustice of climate change at the hands of the United States government. The Trump administration used this delay tactic a record six times, and now Biden’s DOJ has followed in their footsteps and filed it for an unprecedented seventh time.
On February 29, 2024, the Ninth Circuit denied the DOJ’s motion to stay, permitting the case to proceed in the District Court. The Court of Appeals also asked the youth plaintiffs and Judge Ann Aiken to respond to the petition for Writ of Mandamus. The plaintiffs are preparing their response to DOJs outrageous seventh writ of mandamus while they await a ruling from Judge Aiken on the DOJ’s motion for a stay. (Summary derived from Our Children’s Trust website)
How we can add our voices
All told, the U.S. Justice Dept has made 22 attempts to kill this case. At this very moment, People vs Fossil Fuels and Our Children’s Trust are circulating petitions urging the Dept of Justice to allow the case to be heard in open court. If you haven’t taken one of these actions, this is your chance. Recently Climate Action Now featured letters to leading news outlets asking for more coverage of the case, as it is truly precedent setting. It has spawned numerous other youth climate cases in and outside the U.S.
Juliana v United States has set the stage for more youth climate cases
The most recent and heartening such case was Held v Montana (2023) in which Montana’s Supreme Court refused to pause a landmark ruling that found states’ policies can’t prohibit regulators from considering the impact of climate change when approving fossil fuel projects that violate the rights of young people.
Other youth climate cases include Navahine v Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, the first constitutional climate change case challenging a state’s transportation system that results in climate pollution, violating youth plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. The 14 youth plaintiffs and their attorneys are now preparing for trial, on June 24, 2024 in Hawaii.
In California, 18 children under 18 have filed suit against the U.S. EPA for intentionally allowing decades of life-threatening climate pollution, resulting in their loss of home, health, and happiness. They are suing for the equal rights of children everywhere, who deserve a healthy planet and future.
Many other youth cases have been filed in the last four years.
Watch the film and get latest updates
On April 26, CCL Santa Cruz will be hosting a showing of the film Youth v Gov which documents the first five years of Juliana v United States. An update will follow to catch us up to the present moment which may look very different than it does now if Juliana is allowed to proceed. We are hoping people leave not only uplifted by the actions of these youth but also inspired to seek out and join one or more of many local groups addressing our climate crisis in myriad ways. Please put April 26 from 7-9:30 in your calendar and bring a friend! An official Eventbrite invitation will follow shortly.