Suit Aimed At Global Warming Meets American Law: Judges Skeptical
Written by 991KBU on June 5, 2019
A federal appeals court panel in Portland Oregon yesterday took up the law case championed by some high school students in Malibu.
And it did not go well.
The case is Juliana versus United States .. a legakl claim by a group of 21 young people that there constitutional rights to life and liberty are being violated by government-sanctioned oil, coal and gas development.
Meeting in Portland … the federal appeals court panel did seem to be unmoved by the Trump administration’s legal arguments.
The Justice Department claimed that the lawsuit was a fabrication … and the court appeared to reject that.
But reporters covering the hearing said the three judges appeared uncertain about any judicial authority to chart a new course.
If they prove constitutional violations, they want the courts to order the government to establish a carbon-free energy system by midcentury.
One judge told the lawyers for the young people that they “present compelling evidence that we have a real problem. … The tough question for me is … can we act?”
Courts in the United States traditionally are very reluctant to tell government agencies what to do … they are far more comfortable forbidding illegal conduct.
But an attorney for the young people argued that courts can use long-standing constitutional principles to detect violations of individual rights and order remedies that may take many years to implement.
The Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling against school segregation would be an example of that.
In malibu … a group of students have started a new program associated with Malibu Foundation, titled Malibu Green Wave.
They are using the Portland law case as an example of action they want taken .. from Malibu to Washington to the globe … to reduce carbon emissions.
Back in Portland … lawyers for the Trump administration said the lawsuit should be dismissed.
The plaintiffs are “trying to vindicate a constitutional right that doesn’t exist…” Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark told the panel.
They should take their complaints to Congress or regulatory agencies, like anyone else … the White House mouth said.
The judges will release a written decision sometime later this year.
