Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/23-235_n7ip.pdf
Page Number: 13.0

Cite as:  602 U. S. ____ (2024) 

9 

Opinion of the Court 

III  standing  screens  out  plaintiffs  who  might  have  only  a
general  legal,  moral,  ideological,  or  policy  objection  to  a 
particular government action.  For example, a citizen does
not  have  standing  to  challenge  a  government  regulation 
simply because the plaintiff believes that the government
is acting illegally.  See Valley Forge, 454 U. S., at 473, 487. 
A citizen may not sue based only on an “asserted right to
have the Government act in accordance with law.”  Allen, 
468 U. S., at 754; Schlesinger, 418 U. S., at 225–227.  Nor 
may  citizens  sue  merely  because  their  legal  objection  is
accompanied  by  a  strong  moral,  ideological,  or  policy
objection  to  a  government  action.  See  Valley  Forge,  454 
U. S., at 473. 

The  injury  in  fact  requirement  prevents  the  federal 
courts  from  becoming a  “vehicle  for  the  vindication  of  the
value interests of concerned bystanders.”  Allen, 468 U. S., 
at  756  (quotation  marks  omitted).    An  Article  III  court  is 
not  a  legislative  assembly,  a  town  square,  or  a  faculty 
lounge.  Article  III  does  not  contemplate  a  system  where
330  million  citizens  can  come  to  federal  court  whenever 
they believe that the government is acting contrary to the
Constitution  or  other  federal  law.    See  id.,  at  754. 
Vindicating  “the  public  interest  (including  the  public
interest in Government observance of the Constitution and 
laws) is the function of Congress and the Chief Executive.” 
Lujan, 504 U. S., at 576. 

In sum, to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must show that
he or she has suffered or likely will suffer an injury in fact. 
Second  is  causation.  The  plaintiff  must  also  establish
that the plaintiff ’s injury likely was caused or likely will be 
caused by the defendant’s conduct. 

Government  regulations  that  require  or  forbid  some
action  by  the  plaintiff  almost  invariably  satisfy  both  the
injury  in  fact  and  causation  requirements.  So  in  those 
cases, standing is usually easy to establish.  See Lujan, 504 
U. S.,  at  561–562;  see,  e.g.,  Susan  B.  Anthony  List  v.