Juliana v. United States is a federal lawsuit brought by 21 young Americans against the U.S. government in 2015 regarding climate change. They claim that the government has failed to safeguard vital public trust resources and has infringed the constitutional rights of the younger generation to life, liberty, and property through its affirmative action that contributes to climate change.
On February 2, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Biden Administration submitted a writ of mandamus petition and another move for a stay to the Ninth Circuit. In an effort to undermine the standard legal procedure, keep the case from going to trial, and silence young people who want to draw attention to the injustice that the US government is causing by climate change, the Trump Administration has turned to this drastic legal maneuver. Now, Biden’s DOJ has filed it for an unprecedented seventh time, following the Trump administration’s record-breaking six uses of this delay strategy.
On September 12, 2024, the Juliana 21 filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States asking for a writ of mandamus to order the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to correct this grave error and send the case back to the district court. This was done because the integrity of our courts and constitutional democracy depended on it, in response to the Court’s disdain for the law and jurisdiction. The Juliana plaintiffs, in contrast to the DOJ, fulfill the legal prerequisites to utilize the petition.
As they pursue all possible legal options, the Juliana plaintiffs have applied to Justice Kagan for an extension of time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court gave the defendants instructions to reply to the plaintiffs’ writ of mandamus petition on September 17, 2024, along with approving the time extension.
Additionally, the plaintiffs said they have contacted the Biden administration to initiate settlement negotiations. Nearly 350,000 people from the US and throughout the globe signed petitions in support, which were delivered to the Attorney General and President.
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