The Department of Justice is not acquiescing to Judge Ann Aiken's efforts to keep Juliana v. U.S., the so-called "kids climate case," on life support. In a new filing the Department has asked Judge Aiken for a stay of the litigation so that the Department may file a writ of mandamus with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit seeking to have the case dismissed or, in the alternative, to allow interlocutory review.
As I noted here, Judge Aiken denied the federal government's motion to dismiss in December. This ruling was bad enough. What was worse–indeed, astounding–was her denial of the federal government's request that she certify the case for interlocutory review and failure to provide any explanation (let alone justification) for the denial. This was as reckless an act of judicial defiance as we have seen from any district court in the past three years.
From the DOJ filing:
