Amicus Brief in Natalie R. v. Utah

Together with the national ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative and the law firm Ropes & Gray, we filed an amicus brief in the case of Natalie R. v. Utah arguing that in cases involving Utah state constitutional law, Utah courts should not adopt the federal political question doctrine, under which federal courts decline to decide certain kinds of cases. Natalie R. is a case brought by seven youths represented by Our Children’s Trust asserting that Utah statutory provisions that aim to maximize and promote the development of fossil fuels in Utah violate several guarantees under the Utah Constitution. Our brief does not address the merits of those claims, but is focused on the state trial court’s ruling that the plaintiffs’ claims are nonjusticiable political questions.