Ninth Circuit denies Trump's mandamus petition in Juliana v. US
By CAMILLA MORTENSEN
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
unanimously ruled that the climate case, Juliana v. United States,
can proceed toward trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
The Trump
administration had made the extraordinary move of filing for a writ of mandamus
that could have ended the landmark case brought by 21 youth plaintiffs before
it went to trial. The case is supported by locally based nonprofit Our
Children’s Trust.
In a March 7
press release on the ruling, Sahara Valentine, a 13-year-old plaintiff
from Eugene, said, “To our supporters: be ready for the new trial date and plan
on being with us at the court house here, in Eugene, where our voices will be
heard.”
The decision
was entered without prejudice, meaning the Trump administration can file for
mandamus relief in the future.
The full press
release with a link to the ruling is below.
Ninth Circuit Rules in Favor of Youth Plaintiffs, Rejects Trump’s
Attempt to Evade Constitutional Climate Trial
San Francisco –
Today, Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel
of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s
“drastic and extraordinary” petition for writ of mandamus in the landmark
climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, brought by 21 youth supported by Our
Children’s Trust. The Court ruled that the Juliana case can proceed
toward trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and that the
Trump administration had not satisfied the factors necessary for an
extraordinary writ of mandamus. The three-judge panel consisted of Chief Judge
Sidney Thomas, and Circuit Judges Marsha Berzon and Michelle Friedland. Judge
Friedland replaced Alex Kozinski on the panel after he resigned on December 18,
2017, one week after oral argument was held on the petition.
Julia Olson,
executive director and chief legal counsel of Our Children’s Trust and
co-counsel for youth plaintiffs said:
“The Ninth
Circuit just gave us the green light for trial. We will ask the District Court
for a trial date in 2018 where we will put the federal government’s dangerous
energy system and climate policies on trial for infringing the constitutional
rights of young people.”
The Trump
administration’s mandamus petition sought early review of U.S. District Court
Judge Ann Aiken’s 2016 denial of motions to dismiss the youth’s lawsuit, which
seeks a constitutionally compliant national energy system and science-based
climate recovery action by the federal government. Rejecting the government’s
position in their petition, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the federal government
had not established that it was harmed by any discovery order and had not met
the factors for issuing an extraordinary writ. The Court concluded:
“There is
enduring value in the orderly administration of litigation by the trial courts,
free of needless appellate interference. In turn, appellate review is aided by
a developed record and full consideration of issues by the trial courts. If
appellate review could be invoked whenever a district court denied a motion to
dismiss, we would be quickly overwhelmed with such requests, and the resolution
of cases would be unnecessarily delayed.”
Like any other
defendant who loses their motion to dismiss, the U.S. defendants must
participate in discovery and defend themselves at trial, even though it will
take time and resources to do so. That is the structure of our legal system.
Victoria
Barrett, 18-year-old plaintiff from White Plains, New York, said:
“Today, the
Ninth Circuit sided with progress. I’m grateful that my fellow plaintiffs and I
can have our voices heard, and that climate science can have its day in court.
The Trump administration tried to avoid trial, but they can’t ignore us. Our
future is our choice and I believe the courts will stand with our
constitutional rights.”
Please continue this article here: https://www.eugeneweekly.com/2018/03/07/youth-climate-case-continues/
For more, please go here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/571d109b04426270152febe0/t/5aa03a69f9619a2c481821a4/1520450154130/2018.03.07+Press+Release+-+Ninth+Circuit+Decision+on+Trump+Writ+of+Mandamus.pdf
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