Young activists who successfully sued the state of Montana for violating their right to a clean climate are heading back to the drawing board after the Montana Supreme Court declined their bid to enforce their landmark legal victory.
The Montana Supreme Court in late December unanimously rejected the youths’ petition to strike down several new Montana laws that they claim undermine a 2024 decision from the state’s highest bench that upheld residents’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
The youth filed their case earlier in December as a petition for original jurisdiction, meaning the Montana Supreme Court would have been the first to hear the case.
But a panel of five justices found in a Dec. 23 order that the young activists had failed to demonstrate why they could not pursue their claims through the state’s trial courts and normal appeal process. The Montana Supreme Court noted that the challenge came seven months after the state’s new laws went into effect, undercutting the youths’ request for immediate action.
