Washington (CAR) Analysis | July 13, 2023 by Climate Journalist Noreen Wise; All Image Credits: AdobeStock. Updated August 14, 2023.

Held v Montana was the first constitutional climate case to go to trial in the United States. The landmark legal battle, a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, was filed by Rikki Held, et al. — sixteen environmental activists aged 5 to 22 — in March 2020, the same month that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The defendants in the case are the State of Montana, its Governor, and various State agencies.