 | David Appell (@davidappell) |
This Sunday's "60 Minutes" will have a segment on "Juliana v US," the lawsuit filed by youth plaintiffs against the United States claiming that climate change violates their rights. CBS, Sunday at 7 pm . Online here at 8 pm ET: bit.ly/2NyCvwf via Our Children's Trust | |
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Climate policy is set by local, state, and federal elected and appointed officials. Judges shouldn't control climate policy. They don't have the expertise nor the training to do. They don't have staff members with scientific knowledge. If some government policy is less than optimal, it's up to the voters to correct it. The Judiciary is not meant to be some sort of backup super-legislature. If judges usurp the power to set policy, that would undermine democracy and probably lead to bad policies.
ReplyDeleteCheers
I don't think the (ultimate) judge in this case would set policy so much as tell the US government that *it* has to set policies, and (?) if they don't, the court will do what is necessary to protect the plaintiff's rights. (I don't know what that would be or how it would do it.) Haven't courts done that with environmental policies in the past?
ReplyDeletePS: I agree that courts ought not to legislate, but it seems they have to more and more because legislators are too timid to make necessary decisions.