On December 29, Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon took senior status, but she did not retire from the bench. On the very same day, Judge Aiken denied the federal government's motion to dismiss Juliana v. United States, the so-called "Kids Climate Case," and directed the parties to begin preparing for a trial. It is an astounding order that threatens to bring climate litigation back to the Supreme Court, and outcome few climate activists should want.
A bit of background. The Juliana litigation began in 2015, when a group of youth plaintiffs filed suit alleging, among other things, that the federal government's failure to control greenhouse gases violates their substantive due process rights to life, liberty, and property, including a right to a "stable climate system," violates their right to equal protection, and failed to uphold its "public trust" obligation to hold certain natural resources in trust for the people and for future generations.
As one would expect, the federal government sought to dismiss the case. Not only did the district court deny the motion to dismiss, it also denied the federal government's request to certify the decision for interlocutory review. Faced with the prospect of extensive discovery requests and a looking trial, the federal government sought a writ of mandamus and stay of the proceedings, first with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and eventually at One First Street.
