The Trump administration has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to block a lawsuit filed by young environmentalists who claim the government is failing to protect future generations from climate change.
A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit in March. The San Francisco-based Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that it would be premature to dismiss the case based on how burdensome the administration believes the process of searching for documents and questioning people will be—a process called discovery.
“The defendants rely on informal communications as to the scope of discovery—in particular, the plaintiff’s litigation hold and demand letter—but the plaintiffs have clarified that these communications were not discovery requests,” the three-judge panel wrote in their decision.
The lawsuit was filed in 2015 in Oregon federal court by 21 youths, ages 9 to 20, represented by the legal organization Our Children’s Trust. The lawsuit argues the government has known for decades that carbon pollution causes climate change but has failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Federal attorneys have argued that the lawsuit’s basis is speculative and broad, and that the courts shouldn’t let it proceed.
The Obama administration tried to get the case dismissed in 2016, but a federal district judge in Oregon rejected the request and set a trial date for February 2018.
The Oregon court rejected bids by the government to dismiss the case or to restrict the discovery process, leading the Trump administration to appeal to the 9th Circuit for a “writ of mandamus”—a rare action in which the court could potentially order the lower court to dismiss the case. Such pleas are subject to a five-part test.
Solicitor General Noel Francisco asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to block further legal proceedings until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the government’s latest request to dismiss the lawsuit.
A non-jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 29 in Eugene, Oregon.
