For residents of Jackson, Mississippi, the question is simple yet difficult to answer: can people expect the water flowing from their taps to be safe to drink? A federal appeals court has now delivered a striking legal answer: not as a constitutional right. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the US Constitution does not guarantee Americans a right to clean drinking water, rejecting a lawsuit brought by residents of Jackson over years of problems with the city's water system. The decision upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case.
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