On March 7 2018 the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied without prejudice the request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue a writ of mandamus and halt the district court proceedings in Juliana v United States.
In Juliana, a group of child plaintiffs has alleged that the US government violated their constitutional rights by refusing to prevent the use of fossil fuels despite the alleged effects of the fuels on global climate change. The district court had denied the government's motion to dismiss and the DOJ argued that allowing the case to proceed would result in "burdensome discovery obligations on the federal government that will threaten the separation of powers". The court found that the government had not met the criteria for extraordinary mandamus relief at the early phase of litigation. As such, in the absence of reconsideration or a further appeal, the matter will return to the district court. The district judge had previously indicated that the court intends to move the case quickly and set the matter for trial before the end of 2018.
For further information on this topic please contact Samuel B Boxerman or Jim Wedeking at Sidley Austin LLP by telephone (+1 202 736 8000) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Sidley Austin LLP website can be accessed at www.sidley.com.
