Schakowsky, Merkley, 40+ Members Join America’s Youth in Climate Rights Lawsuit Before U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) led over 40 of their colleagues in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the 21 youth plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, a landmark constitutional climate lawsuit.

The youth plaintiffs filed a petition asking the Court to clarify the proper role of the judiciary in addressing constitutional questions when children have demonstrated ongoing harm to their physical health and safety caused by federal fossil fuel policies. The amicus brief filed by members of Congress emphasized that all citizens, including young people, should have the right to access the courts to obtain relief and protect themselves from government policies that harm them.

In their brief to the Supreme Court, the members of Congress are calling on the Supreme Court to correct the Ninth Circuit's overreach and allow the Juliana plaintiffs to proceed to trial. The lawmakers argued they have a "special interest in preserving the separation of powers" and the laws that Congress enacted giving federal courts the power to declare constitutional rights. The members also filed the brief to ensure "that the federal government fulfills its obligations to respect fundamental rights of life and liberty by safeguarding the environment for current and future generations."

"[Juliana plaintiffs] seek a declaration that their Fifth Amendment rights depend upon a viable climate and that the federal government's ongoing conduct violates their fundamental rights to life and personal security. This question of constitutional construction is one that the federal courts have the competence and the responsibility to answer," they continued.

"[T]he federal courts have a vital role in declaring the scope of the petitioners' Fifth Amendment rights and the government's constitutional obligations as a trustee of the climate for America's youth," the lawmakers concluded.

Representative Schakowsky and Senator Merkley were joined by U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Nanette Díaz Barragán (CA-44), Julia Brownley (CA-26), André Carson (IN-07), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Frederica Wilson (FL-24) and U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the lawmakers' court filing can be found by clicking here.

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