Blue Ocean Law joins amicus curiae brief in Juliana

Blue Ocean Law is pleased to announce that it has joined in the filing of an amicus curiae brief with other international experts in the Juliana case. The case was originally filed in 2015 by a group of 21 youth plaintiffs in the District of Oregon against the U.S. federal government. It was ground-breaking in its day for its youth-led approach to holding the government accountable for violating their constitutional rights by allowing dangerous levels of carbon dioxide concentrations to accumulate over many decades.

While the landmark suit never made it to trial, lawyers from Our Children’s Trust, a non-profit public interest law firm, have not given up the fight. On June 17, 2024, they filed a petition for rehearing en banc with the Ninth Circuit. Prior to its dismissal, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken had ruled in favor of the Juliana plaintiffs in a historic decision, stating, “I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.”

Through the filing of this amicus curiae, BOL joins the swell of global experts supporting the justiciability of cases concerning the climate crisis and upholding the rights of present and future generations.