CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SPRING 2007 – PROF. FISCHER
Outline for Class 4: Limits on Judicial Power: Justiciability Doctrines:
Constitutional Standing Requirements
I.
II.
III.
Wrap-Up: Political Question Doctrine
Standing: The Big Picture
Ban on Advisory Opinions in federal courts
A. Constitutional Basis for Ban on Advisory Opinions
B. Contrast with some other federal systems that permit
advisory opinions (e.g. Canada, India)
C. When will a lawsuit not be at risk of falling foul of the ban
on advisory opinions?
 An actual dispute between adverse parties: See Opinion
of the Justices [C p. 32]
 Substantial likelihood that a court decision will have
some effect: E.g. Hayburn’s Case (1792) [C p. 32]; Plaut
v. Spendthrift Farm (1995) (majority opinion of Scalia)
[C p. 32]
 It doesn’t matter if the lawsuit is for a declaratory
judgment: Nashville C. & St. L. Ry. V. Wallace (1933) [C
p. 32]
D. Should There Be a Ban on Advisory Opinions?
IV.
Standing:
A. What is standing?
B. Why have a standing doctrine?
C. Today we will study only the constitutional standing
requirements: injury, causation, and redressability. All
three must be satisfied. In Class 5, we will examine the
prudential standing requirements and in Class 6 other
justiciability limits of mootness and ripeness.
D. Injury Requirement:
 What types of injuries are sufficient for standing?
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992) [C p. 43],
Federal Election Commission v. Akins (1998) [C p.
47], Allen v. Wright (1984) [C p. 35]
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 Requirement for a personally suffered injury: City
of Los Angeles v. Lyons (1983) [C p. 42], Lujan v.
Defenders of Wildlife (1992) [C p. 43], United States
v. Hays (1995) [C p. 47]
E. Causation Requirement: Allen v. Wright (1984) [C p. 35],
Warth v. Seldin (1975) [C p. 49], Simon v. Eastern Kentucky
Welfare Rights Organization (1976) [C p. 49], Duke Power
Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. [C p. 49]
F. Redressability Requirement: Allen v. Wright (1984) [C p.
35], Linda R. S. v. Richard D. (1973) [C p. 48], Warth v.
Seldin (1975) [C p. 49], Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare
Rights Organization (1976) [C p. 49], Duke Power Co. v.
Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. [C p. 49]
G. Recent decision on standing: Massachusetts v. EPA (2007)
[Supp. 1]
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