lawsuit – League of Women Voters of the Umpqua Valley

We, the League of Women Voters of Umpqua Valley, are proud that our state League (LWVOR) signed on to an amicus brief in support of Our Children’s Trust with our national League (LWVUS).

As Eleanor Revelle, Chair of the national League’s Climate Change Task Force, said on 8/12/17:

As I reported last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a temporary stay in the proceedings of the Juliana et al v. United States climate lawsuit while it considers a petition from the Trump administration that it review the November 2016 decision by District Court Judge Ann Aiken to allow the lawsuit to go to trial. The attorneys for the 21 youth plaintiffs have been ordered to file an answer to the Trump administration’s petition. And Our Children’s Trust (OCT) has requested that the Leagues (LWVUS and LWVOR) submit an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ response.

As you will recall, the LWVUS and LWVOR filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs when the case was before Judge Aiken in the District Court in fall 2016. Courtney Johnson with the Crag Law Center will be drafting a new brief for us now. The basic premise for the Leagues’ brief is our organization’s interest is in protecting the rights of everyone in the democratic process.

When the political process fails, as here, to protect the rights of children, then the courts must step in to secure those rights. The government has been debating climate change for so long, we’ve now reached a tipping point, and this case must move forward on the merits and not get bogged down in procedural issues. These children’s rights are at stake, and time is of the essence.

As before, with the 2016 amicus brief, the League of Women Voters of Oregon has agreed to collect contributions towards the costs associated with drafting and submitting the brief, about $3,000. I invite you to join me in making a contribution towards this effort.