In New Mexico, a groundbreaking constitutional lawsuit is set for a major hearing on Friday. The lawsuit, filed in May, involves Indigenous communities and environmentalists who claim that the state is violating the pollution control clause of the New Mexico Constitution. Several groups are petitioning the court to allow them to intervene in the case.
Plaintiffs will be arguing in front of the First Judicial District Court against motions from the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico and the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce. These groups claim that the lawsuit would directly affect their business interests, but lead council Gail Evans argues that only the state can violate constitutional rights. The state has also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which comes at a time when New Mexico is experiencing historic levels of oil production, second only to Texas.
The hearing is set to begin on Friday, March 29 at 2pm MST and will be available for viewing via Google Meet. While there is a separate push by environmentalists to ask voters to modify the state constitution to include a “green amendment” giving citizens the right to a clean and healthy environment, this lawsuit focuses on the state’s failure to control air pollution. The plaintiffs will be making their case before Judge Patricia Sosa-Lynch.
