from the ACLU, this is at Liberty. I'm Kendall Seasmeyer, your host.

Last month, a district court judge in Montana ruled in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs in a landmark climate lawsuit.

And held versus Montana, young Montanans, ranging from ages 5 to 22, sued the state,

arguing that lawmakers have consciously prioritized the development of fossil fuels over the well-being of Montana's

residents and the protection of Montana's natural resources. This case marks the first time that a U.S.

court has declared a government's constitutional duty to protect people from climate change.

Not only does this case model how young people can

engage with the legal system, it also sets precedent for similar lawsuits, proving state

constitutions as a viable pathway to scoring seemingly unlikely civil rights and liberties victories.

Joining us today is Matt Dos Santos, an attorney for our children's

trust, the legal nonprofit group that brought the case on behalf of the youth, and Claire Vlasse,

one of the youth plaintiffs, who was a student at Claremont McKenna College. Together, they'll explain

what it took to get this case off the ground and what implications it could have for the future.

Matt, Claire, welcome to it Liberty, and thank you so much for joining me.

Thanks for having me.

Thank you.

So I have to start by congratulating you both on such a significant victory and held versus Montana.

This is the nation's first youth-led constitutional climate case to go to trial. We're going to speak in depth about how this case

got built, but can you give us the top line, Matt? What were the plaintiffs arguing and what

did the judge ultimately decide? So great, Kendall. Thanks so much for having us, Claire and I are just super stoked to be talking

about this with the ACLU. At the highest level, the case held versus the state of the Montana

was about the 16 youth plaintiffs who were suing their government for not protecting their constitutional rights.

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