NYCLU Amicus Curiae Brief: Green Amendment

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed an amicus brief with the Appellate division, challenging a lower court decision finding that the New York Green Amendment is not self-executing in a case related to lead exposure in Buffalo homes. The Green Amendment guarantees every New Yorker the constitutional right to clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment.

New York courts have long treated fundamental rights as self-executing, including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to organize and collectively bargain, and the right to due process. The amicus brief filed support this appeal by arguing that, consistent with the other fundamental guarantees protected under the state constitution, the Green Amendment must be interpreted as self-executing.