Montana Judge Rules Youth Have Constitutional Right to Healthful Environment

A Montana judge ruled Monday that state laws prohibiting the consideration of potential climate impacts in legislative decisions were in violation of the state’s constitution. 

Details: A group of children between the ages of 5 and 22— represented by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit public interest law firm— successfully argued that state laws prohibiting government agencies from considering greenhouse emissions were in violation of a 1972 provision of the Montana state constitution ensuring “a clean and healthful environment.” The state argued the case was overly broad and that Montana’s emissions are not substantial enough on a global scale to be deemed detrimental.

Key Quotes: The judge ruled, “The degradation to Montana’s environment, and the resulting harm to Plaintiffs, will worsen if the State continues ignoring GHG emissions and climate change.” Julia Olson, the executive director of Our Children’s Trust, called the ruling “a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy and for our climate.” Emily Flower, a spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, said the state planned to appeal the decision, arguing the ruling was “absurd” and the trial was a “weeklong taxpayer-funded publicity stunt.”

How the Media Covered It: Across the spectrum, the case was described as a “landmark,” “first of its kind” decision. Some coverage underemphasized that the ruling pertains to the Montana state constitution, not the U.S. constitution. Fox Business’ (Lean Right bias) coverage entirely omitted this fact and did not note the 1972 provision in Montana’s constitution.