They did it again. On Friday, in an unprecedented and desperate move, the Trump administration filed another motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to postpone trial in Juliana v. United States, while they seek review again from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and from the U.S. Supreme Court on the same legal questions they’ve raised before.  

In a telephonic status conference last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin said it straight up “…It doesn’t seem to me, looking at the landscape here, that very much has changed since the last motion to stay was filed…I would just urge everybody to keep on track for trial.”

The youth plaintiffs and the Court noted that the only other change in circumstance is that the plaintiffs have expended significant time and resources in conducting discovery in preparation for trial, and are nearing the end of conducting 50 depositions of experts and plaintiffs in about 60 days.

To put it bluntly, the Trump administration knows that the evidence is strongly in the plaintiffs’ favor and will show serious constitutional violations. So they’d rather have the highest court in the land review the youths’ case before the factual record is fully developed and heard by a trier of fact, in the ordinary course of litigation in our country.

With your support, this lawsuit was filed by 21 young people in August 2015. The United States government has fought the youth plaintiffs for more than three years to get this case dismissed, all while knowingly perpetuating the nation’s fossil fuel energy system and the climate crisis.

Judges at the U.S. District Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and most recently, the United States Supreme Court, have already repeatedly ruled that these youth plaintiffs have a right to go to trial and there is no lawful reason to stop them. Their trial is set to begin on Monday, October 29.

“This redundant motion by the Department of Justice, with no new grounds for stopping the trial, is nothing more than a show of fear,” said Julia Olson, our executive director and chief legal counsel and co-counsel for youth plaintiffs. “We trust that the entire federal judiciary will once again reject this administration’s attempt to thwart justice. “The fact that they’re going to such great lengths to avoid this trial shows how important it is,” said Jayden F., 15-year-old plaintiff from Rayne, Louisiana. “It shows that they know that what they’re doing is wrong. They don’t want to face the consequences of their actions.”

We are opposing the government’s continuing efforts to postpone trial and we are optimistic that all of the courts, U.S. District, U.S. Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court, will do as they’ve done before: deny the government’s requests for postponement

NOW WITH ONLY THREE WEEKS UNTIL THIS 10-12 WEEK TRIAL IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN ON OCTOBER 29, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

HELP MOBILIZE for all youth and future generations

Stand in solidarity with the youth plaintiffs at a rally near you, no matter what, on what we expect will be the first day of trial, October 29. Click here if you’d like to help organize or attend a solidarity rally near you on October 29. Help show the world our support of these brave young people.

DONATE NOW to support the youths’ case

Please help us accomplish what we have ahead, in defeating these delay tactics, and then to sustain this landmark effort through all 10-12 weeks of trial. We are incurring major necessary expenses each day to complete the last stages of trial preparation, as now further complicated by the need to defend against the government’s efforts to delay, and have much to raise throughout this trial. Please help these 21 youth prepare their case and defend against these tactics.

We have a very generous matching challenge that will match every gift of every size up to $75,000, and we are just over half way to meeting that challenge! It will take a village, and indeed a world community, including you, to help meet this match and to defeat these last minute delay tactics and to bring this landmark action to successful conclusion. We need everyone’s help now.  

On behalf of all of your children, young people everywhere, and all future generations, we thank you for your consideration. We are deeply grateful as this crucial effort comes to fruition.

The Team at Our Children’s Trust