Six retired Montana Supreme Court justices are urging the state’s highest court to uphold a landmark legal victory for young climate activists.
It comes as the state of Montana has asked the state Supreme Court to toss Held v. Montana, arguing that a lower court “glossed over basic jurisdictional thresholds” to reach a flawed conclusion in the case, which determined last year that residents have a constitutional right to a safe environment.
The retired justices, along with tribal nations and outdoor recreation companies including Patagonia, said in friend of the court briefs that they are “profoundly concerned” that “partisan branches” of government are trying “to bar the judicial branch from enforcing constitutional rights.”
First District Judge Kathy Seeley ruled in August that lawmakers had violated the Montana Constitution by barring agencies from considering the climate effects of fossil fuel projects.
