So holds Dearth v. Holder, decided today by the D.C. Circuit: Plaintiffs Stephen Dearth and the Second Amendment Foundation, Inc. (SAF), seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, claim that portions of 18 U.S.C. § 922 and related regulations are unconstitutional because they prevent Dearth from purchasing a firearm. The district court dismissed the suit for lack […]
Archive | Standing
National Day of Prayer and the Establishment Clause
The Seventh Circuit just vacated the district court decision that held that the federal statute requiring the President to declare a National Day of Prayer violates the Establishment Clause. The Circuit held that plaintiff lacked standing to challenge either the statute or the President’s proclamation. And even “[i]f this means that no one has standing, […]
California District Court Dismisses Anti-Mandate Lawsuit for Lack of Standing
I should have gotten around to this when it happened. But it’s still worth nothing that a federal district court in California dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Obama health care plan’s individual mandate on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked standing. The case was brought by former California state legislator Steve Baldwin and the Pacific […]
Kopel comment on states’ victory on health control lawsuit.
By David Kopel on October 14, 2010 5:06 pm in Commerce Clause, Congress, Constitutional Law, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Spending Clause, Standing, Taxes, Taxing and Spending Clause, Tenth Amendment
My comment on today’s decision, granting the motion to dismiss on some counts, and while allowing other counts to proceed. Like Randy’s comment, my comment is posted on the blog of the site Health Care Lawsuits, which is hosted by the Independent Women’s Forum. The court entirely rejected the administration’s claim that the penalty for disobeying […]
Cert. Grant in 10th Amendment Case
Granted this morning, Bond v. United States. Question presented: “Whether a criminal defendant convicted under a federal statute has standing to challenge her conviction on grounds that, as applied to her, the statute is beyond the federal government’s enumerated powers and inconsistent with the Tenth Amendment.” The circuits are split, and defendant was convicted in […]
The Case Against Restrictive Constitutional Standing Requirements
In my last post, I explained why conservatives and liberals may be changing their traditional positions on standing. In this one, I briefly explain my view that “constitutional” standing requirements are both a bad idea and not required by the Constitution. Right from the start, I should emphasize that my argument only applies against claims […]
Are Right and Left Changing Where They Stand on Standing?
By Ilya Somin on August 18, 2010 10:00 pm in Conservatism, Constitutional Law, Constitutional Theory, Gay Marriage, Health Care, Standing
Traditionally, conservative scholars and judges have advocated narrow views of constitutional “standing”: the level of “interest” litigants must have at stake in the outcome of a case in order to give them a legal right to sue. For their part, liberals have usually promoted the opposite view: constitutional rights should not be denied based on […]