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Appeals Court Says Teen Climate Lawsuit Can Go To Trial

Rachael McDonald

A three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruledagainst the Trump Administration’s attempts to quash a trial over climate change.

The lawsuit filed by 21 young people claims the government is endangering their future.

The suit, “Juliana versus United States” claims the government is willfully failing to prevent climate change. The Trump Administration had petitioned the court for a writ of mandamus, a rarely used legal maneuver that would have prevented the case from going forward. This after a federal judge in Oregon had denied motions to dismiss. Julia Olson is attorney for the youth plaintiffs.
“We were really excited and relieved to have the decision so we can move forward and get a new trial date from the district court and get as quickly to trial as possible.”
The lawsuit says the government has known for decades that climate change is caused by carbon emissions but failed to make changes to reverse the effects. Olson hopes for a trial date in the fall.
 

Rachael McDonald is KLCC’s host for All Things Considered on weekday afternoons. She also is the editor of the KLCC Extra, the daily digital newspaper. Rachael has a BA in English from the University of Oregon. She started out in public radio as a newsroom volunteer at KLCC in 2000.
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