A Federal Magistrate judge in Eugene Thursday set a trial date for a case that pits 21 young people against the Trump Administration over climate change. But, attorneys for the government will likely try to delay or prevent the trial from taking place.
Judge Thomas Coffin scheduled Juliana vs. United States to go to trial on October 29th of this year. Last month, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an attempt by the government to get the case thrown out. Julia Olson is with Our Children’s Trust and lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
“They’ll continue to try different maneuvers, I think, but I’m not concerned about any appeal of the Ninth Circuit decision because that decision was so solid and really hard to overturn.”
The lawsuit blames the government’s energy policy for putting carbon into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. The young plaintiffs say climate change is a violation of their constitutional rights. [I’m Rachael McDonald in Eugene.]