Fifth Circuit: U.S. Constitution does not guarantee a right to clean drinking water
A federal appeals court affirmed dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit by Jackson, Mississippi residents who said lead-contaminated water violated their constitutional rights.
Useful takeaways from this story.
The Fifth Circuit upheld dismissal of a suit from Jackson residents who alleged the city knowingly exposed them to lead-contaminated water and violated their constitutional right to bodily integrity.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote that the Constitution does not supply a remedy for every governmental wrongdoing and declined to recognize a constitutional right to clean water or guaranteed truthful information from officials.
Federal statutory protections such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act remain in force, even though the court found no fundamental constitutional right to clean drinking water.
The useful part
The lawsuit, first filed in 2022, says the contamination violated Jacksonians' constitutional right to bodily integrity. "The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing, " Engelhardt said. "Defendants' actions allegedly deprived Plaintiffs of clean water and guileless information.
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Details worth keeping
Donald Trump-appointed judge Kurt Engelhardt disagreed. These deprivations, while grievous, do not infringe upon any constitutional right." That may be true in Mississippi—but on the state level in at least nine US states, and in more than a dozen other countries, clean drinking water is in fact a protected right. "Bodily integrity" died when abortion was outlawed.
Related coverage
- Blackamericaweb: Court Rules Constitution Does Not Guarantee a Right to Clean Drinking Water A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S.
- Kxan: The ruling followed a lawsuit filed in 2022 by residents in Jackson, Mississippi, over the city's lead-contaminated water system.
More context around this story.
Court Rules Constitution Does Not Guarantee a Right to Clean Drinking Water
Court Rules Constitution Does Not Guarantee a Right to Clean Drinking Water A federal appeals court has ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee Americans a right to clean drinking water, rejecting a lawsuit brought by residents of Jackson, Mississippi, over the city’s lead-contaminated water syst
US federal court says no constitutional right to clean water in Mississippi case
Appeals court dismisses lawsuit from Jackson residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their rights A US appellate court has decided that the federal constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water. That legal opinion came in the form of a decision on Friday from the fifth circuit court of appeals
Federal court rules there is no constitutional right to safe drinking water
Years after a water crisis rocked Jackson, Mississippi, the court finds that residents have no right “to truthful information from officials.”
Court rules residents of a US city don’t have a constitutional right to lead-free water
A U.S. federal court recently ruled that residents of Jackson, Mississippi, don’t have a constitutional right to truthful information from public officials, nor the right to municipal drinking water that is free of lead, a neurotoxin. “The Constitution does not provide redress for every governmental wrongdoing,” Judge
Appeals court says clean drinking water is not a constitutional right
The ruling followed a lawsuit filed in 2022 by residents in Jackson, Mississippi, over the city's lead-contaminated water system.
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