09/07/2026
🚨Residents of Jackson, Mississippi alleged that city officials allowed lead to contaminate their water—and then told people the water was safe to drink despite knowing it wasn’t.
The Fifth Circuit just upheld dismissal of their federal constitutional claims.
All 10 judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents. The opinion was written by Trump appointee Kurt Engelhardt and joined by Jennifer Elrod, Edith Jones, Jerry Smith, Priscilla Richman, Don Willett, James Ho, Stuart Kyle Duncan, Andrew Oldham and Cory Wilson—all appointed by Republican presidents. Most of them, appointed by Trump himself.
Their reasoning? The Constitution doesn’t specifically establish a fundamental right to be protected from contaminated drinking water or a right to accurate information from government officials.
So, according to the majority, residents should pursue ordinary lawsuits, elect different officials in their heavily gerrymandered districts, and seek political remedies instead.
Judge Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush appointee, was joined by Democrat appointees Carl Stewart, Stephen Higginson, Dana Douglas and Irma Ramirez in the dissent.
Their argument was essentially: Hold on. We’re reviewing a dismissal of the lawsuit—not deciding whether the residents will ultimately win.
At this stage, judges are supposed to accept the allegations as true and ask whether they plausibly establish a constitutional violation.
And the allegations are extraordinary: the city allegedly knew its water treatment system couldn’t adequately prevent corrosion, made decisions that worsened the problem, allowed lead into the water, and then misled residents about the danger.
The dissent says those allegations are enough to let the case proceed.
The Republican majority says recognizing such a constitutional claim would improperly create a “new” right.
So there you have it: No constitutional right to be free from a poisoned water supply.
Is America “healthy again” yet?