Source: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/scotus-dismisses-federal-wiretapping-cha-72118/
Timestamp: 2013-12-10 17:42:11
Document Index: 635791624

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SCOTUS Dismisses Federal Wiretapping Challenge | Capper, Dir of National Intelligence, et al v. Amnesty International USA et al | JD Supra Perspectives - JDSupra
Capper, Dir of National Intelligence, et al v. Amnesty International USA et alSCOTUS Dismisses Federal Wiretapping Challenge more+
Full text copy of Supreme Court's dismissal of lawsuit challenging federal wiretapping program. On Tuesday, February 26, 2013, a divided Court dismissed a challenge to the FISA Amendments Act, which permits federal wiretapping of electronic communications without probable cause as long as one of the parties to the communication is located outside the United States. From Wired.com’s report on the ruling:
“The 5-4 decision by Justice Samuel Alito was a clear victory for the President Barack Obama administration, which like its predecessor, argued that government wiretapping laws cannot be challenged in court. What’s more, the outcome marks the first time the Supreme Court decided any case touching on the eavesdropping program that was secretly employed in the wake of 9/11 by the President George W. Bush administration, and eventually codified into law twice by Congress.
A high court majority concluded that, because the eavesdropping is done secretly, the American Civil Liberties Union, journalists and human-rights groups that sued to nullify the law have no legal standing to sue — because they have no evidence they are being targeted by the FISA Amendments Act. Some of the plaintiffs, which the court labeled ‘respondents,’ are also journalists and among other things claimed the 2008 legislation has chilled their speech and violated their Fourth Amendment privacy rights.”
1 (Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2012 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as isbeing done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has beenprepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, ET AL. v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT No. 11–1025. Argued October 29, 2012—Decided February 26, 2013 Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA),50 U. S. C. §1881a, added by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008,permits the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to acquire foreign intelligence information by jointly authorizing the surveillance of individuals who are not “United States persons” and are reasonably believed to be located outside the UnitedStates. Before doing so, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence normally must obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s (FISC) approval. Surveillance under §1881a issubject to statutory conditions, judicial authorization, congressionalsupervision, and compliance with the Fourth Amendment. Respondents—attorneys and human rights, labor, legal, and media organizations—are United States persons who claim that they engage in sensitive international communications with individuals who they believe are likely targets of §1881a surveillance. On the day that theFISA Amendments Act was enacted, they filed suit, seeking a declaration that §1881a is facially unconstitutional and a permanent injunction against §1881a-authorized surveillance. The District Court found that respondents lacked standing, but the Second Circuit reversed, holding that respondents showed (1) an “objectively reasonable likelihood” that their communications will be intercepted at sometime in the future, and (2) that they are suffering present injuries resulting from costly and burdensome measures they take to protect the confidentiality of their international communications from possible §1881a surveillance. Held: Respondents do not have Article III standing. Pp. 8–24.(a) To establish Article III standing, an injury must be “concrete, 2 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Syllabus particularized, and actual or imminent; fairly traceable to the challenged action; and redressable by a favorable ruling.” Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U. S. ___, ___. “[T]hreatened injury must be ‘“certainly impending” ’ to constitute injury in fact,” and “[a]llegations of possible future injury” are not sufficient. Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U. S. 149, 158. Pp. 8–10.(b) Respondents assert that they have suffered injury in fact that isfairly traceable to §1881a because there is an objectively reasonablelikelihood that their communications with their foreign contacts willbe intercepted under §1881a at some point. This argument fails. Initially, the Second Circuit’s “objectively reasonable likelihood” standard is inconsistent with this Court’s “threatened injury” requirement.Respondents’ standing theory also rests on a speculative chain of possibilities that does not establish that their potential injury is certainly impending or is fairly traceable to §1881a. First, it is highly speculative whether the Government will imminently targetcommunications to which respondents are parties. Since respondents, as U. S. persons, cannot be targeted under §1881a, their theorynecessarily rests on their assertion that their foreign contacts will betargeted. Yet they have no actual knowledge of the Government’s §1881a targeting practices. Second, even if respondents could demonstrate that the targeting of their foreign contacts is imminent,they can only speculate as to whether the Government will seek touse §1881a-authorized surveillance instead of one of the Government’s numerous other surveillance methods, which are not challenged here. Third, even if respondents could show that the Government will seek FISC authorization to target respondents’ foreign contacts under §1881a, they can only speculate as to whether the FISC will authorize the surveillance. This Court is reluctant to endorse standing theories that require guesswork as to how independent decisionmakers will exercise their judgment. See, e.g., Whitmore, supra, at 159–160. Fourth, even if the Government were to obtain the FISC’s approval to target respondents’ foreign contacts under§1881a, it is unclear whether the Government would succeed in acquiring those contacts’ communications. And fifth, even if the Government were to target respondents’ foreign contacts, respondents can only speculate as to whether their own communications withthose contacts would be incidentally acquired. Pp. 10–15.(c) Respondents’ alternative argument is also unpersuasive. Theyclaim that they suffer ongoing injuries that are fairly traceable to§1881a because the risk of §1881a surveillance requires them to takecostly and burdensome measures to protect the confidentiality of their communications. But respondents cannot manufacture standing by choosing to make expenditures based on hypothetical future Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 3 Syllabus harm that is not certainly impending. Because they do not face athreat of certainly impending interception under §1881a, their costsare simply the product of their fear of surveillance, which is insufficient to create standing. See Laird v. Tatum, 408 U. S. 1, 10–15. Accordingly, any ongoing injuries that respondents are suffering are notfairly traceable to §1881a. Pp. 16–20. (d) Respondents’ remaining arguments are likewise unavailing. Contrary to their claim, their alleged injuries are not the same kinds of injuries that supported standing in cases such as Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U. S. 167, Meese v. Keene, 481 U. S. 465, and Monsanto, supra. And their suggestion that they should be held to have standing because otherwise the constitutionality of §1881a will never be adjudicated is bothlegally and factually incorrect. First, “ ‘[t]he assumption that if respondents have no standing to sue, no one would have standing, is not a reason to find standing.’ ” Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U. S. 464, 489. Second, the holding in this case by no means insulates§1881a from judicial review. Pp. 20–23. 638 F. 3d 118, reversed and remanded. ALITO, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and SCALIA, KENNEDY, and THOMAS, JJ., joined. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which GINSBURG, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. _________________ _________________ Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 1 Opinion of the Court NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in thepreliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested tonotify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in orderthat corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 11–1025 JAMES R. CLAPPER, JR., DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA ET AL. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT [February 26, 2013] JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, 50 U. S. C. §1881a (2006 ed., Supp. V), allows theAttorney General and the Director of National Intelligenceto acquire foreign intelligence information by jointly authorizing the surveillance of individuals who are not “United States persons”1 and are reasonably believed to belocated outside the United States. Before doing so, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligencenormally must obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s approval. Respondents are United Statespersons whose work, they allege, requires them to engagein sensitive international communications with individ-uals who they believe are likely targets of surveillanceunder §1881a. Respondents seek a declaration that §1881a is unconstitutional, as well as an injunctionagainst §1881a-authorized surveillance. The question —————— 1The term “United States person” includes citizens of the United States, aliens admitted for permanent residence, and certain associations and corporations. 50 U. S. C. §1801(i); see §1881(a). 2 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court before us is whether respondents have Article III standing to seek this prospective relief. Respondents assert that they can establish injury in factbecause there is an objectively reasonable likelihood that their communications will be acquired under §1881a atsome point in the future. But respondents’ theory of future injury is too speculative to satisfy the well-establishedrequirement that threatened injury must be “certainlyimpending.” E.g., Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U. S. 149, 158 (1990). And even if respondents could demonstrate that the threatened injury is certainly impending, theystill would not be able to establish that this injury is fairly traceable to §1881a. As an alternative argument, respondents contend that they are suffering present injurybecause the risk of §1881a-authorized surveillance al-ready has forced them to take costly and burdensome meas-ures to protect the confidentiality of their international communications. But respondents cannot manufacture stand-ing by choosing to make expenditures based on hypothetical future harm that is not certainly impending. We therefore hold that respondents lack Article III standing. I A In 1978, after years of debate, Congress enacted theForeign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to authorize and regulate certain governmental electronic surveillance of communications for foreign intelligence purposes. See 92 Stat. 1783, 50 U. S. C. §1801 et seq.; 1 D. Kris & J. Wilson, National Security Investigations & Prosecutions§§3.1, 3.7 (2d ed. 2012) (hereinafter Kris & Wilson). In enacting FISA, Congress legislated against the backdrop of our decision in United States v. United States Dist. Court for Eastern Dist. of Mich., 407 U. S. 297 (1972) (Keith), in which we explained that the standards and procedures that law enforcement officials must follow Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 3 Opinion of the Court when conducting “surveillance of ‘ordinary crime’” might not be required in the context of surveillance conducted for domestic national-security purposes. Id., at 322–323. Although the Keith opinion expressly disclaimed any ruling “on the scope of the President’s surveillance power with respect to the activities of foreign powers,” id., at 308, it implicitly suggested that a special framework for foreign intelligence surveillance might be constitutionally permissible, see id., at 322–323. In constructing such a framework for foreign intel-ligence surveillance, Congress created two specialized courts. In FISA, Congress authorized judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to approve electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes ifthere is probable cause to believe that “the target of the electronic surveillance is a foreign power or an agent of aforeign power,” and that each of the specific “facilities orplaces at which the electronic surveillance is directed isbeing used, or is about to be used, by a foreign power or anagent of a foreign power.” §105(a)(3), 92 Stat. 1790; see §§105(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), ibid.; 1 Kris & Wilson §7:2, at 194–195; id., §16:2, at 528–529. Additionally, Congressvested the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ofReview with jurisdiction to review any denials by the FISC of applications for electronic surveillance. §103(b),92 Stat. 1788; 1 Kris & Wilson §5:7, at 151–153. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency(NSA) to conduct warrantless wiretapping of telephone and e-mail communications where one party to the communication was located outside the United States and a participant in “the call was reasonably believed to be amember or agent of al Qaeda or an affiliated terroristorganization,” App. to Pet. for Cert. 403a. See id., at 263a–265a, 268a, 273a–279a, 292a–293a; American Civil Liberties Union v. NSA, 493 F. 3d 644, 648 (CA6 2007) 4 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court (ACLU) (opinion of Batchelder, J.). In January 2007, theFISC issued orders authorizing the Government to targetinternational communications into or out of the United States where there was probable cause to believe that one participant to the communication was a member or agentof al Qaeda or an associated terrorist organization. App. to Pet. for Cert. 312a, 398a, 405a. These FISC orders sub-jected any electronic surveillance that was then occurring under the NSA’s program to the approval of the FISC. Id., at 405a; see id., at 312a, 404a. After a FISC Judgesubsequently narrowed the FISC’s authorization of such surveillance, however, the Executive asked Congress to amend FISA so that it would provide the intelligence community with additional authority to meet the challenges of modern technology and international terrorism. Id., at 315a–318a, 331a–333a, 398a; see id., at 262a, 277a–279a, 287a. When Congress enacted the FISA Amendments Act of2008 (FISA Amendments Act), 122 Stat. 2436, it left muchof FISA intact, but it “established a new and independent source of intelligence collection authority, beyond that granted in traditional FISA.” 1 Kris & Wilson §9:11, at 349–350. As relevant here, §702 of FISA, 50 U. S. C.§1881a (2006 ed., Supp. V), which was enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Act, supplements pre-existingFISA authority by creating a new framework under whichthe Government may seek the FISC’s authorization of certain foreign intelligence surveillance targeting the communications of non-U. S. persons located abroad.Unlike traditional FISA surveillance, §1881a does not require the Government to demonstrate probable cause that the target of the electronic surveillance is a for-eign power or agent of a foreign power. Compare§§1805(a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), with §§1881a(d)(1), (i)(3)(A); 638F. 3d 118, 126 (CA2 2011); 1 Kris & Wilson §16:16, at 584. And, unlike traditional FISA, §1881a does not require the Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 5 Opinion of the Court Government to specify the nature and location of each ofthe particular facilities or places at which the electronic surveillance will occur. Compare §§1805(a)(2)(B), (c)(1) (2006 ed. and Supp. V), with §§1881a(d)(1), (g)(4), (i)(3)(A);638 F. 3d, at 125–126; 1 Kris & Wilson §16:16, at 585.2 The present case involves a constitutional challenge to §1881a. Surveillance under §1881a is subject to statutoryconditions, judicial authorization, congressional supervision, and compliance with the Fourth Amendment. Section 1881a provides that, upon the issuance of an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, “theAttorney General and the Director of National Intelligencemay authorize jointly, for a period of up to 1 year . . . , thetargeting of persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligenceinformation.” §1881a(a). Surveillance under §1881a may not be intentionally targeted at any person known to be inthe United States or any U. S. person reasonably believed to be located abroad. §§1881a(b)(1)–(3); see also §1801(i). Additionally, acquisitions under §1881a must comportwith the Fourth Amendment. §1881a(b)(5). Moreover, surveillance under §1881a is subject to congressional oversight and several types of Executive Branch review. See §§1881a(f)(2), (l); Amnesty Int’l USA v. McConnell, 646 F. Supp. 2d 633, 640–641 (SDNY 2009). Section 1881a mandates that the Government obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s approval of “targeting” procedures, “minimization” procedures, and agovernmental certification regarding proposed surveillance. §§1881a(a), (c)(1), (i)(2), (i)(3). Among other things,the Government’s certification must attest that (1) procedures are in place “that have been approved, havebeen submitted for approval, or will be submitted with the —————— 2Congress recently reauthorized the FISA Amendments Act for another five years. See 126 Stat. 1631. 6 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court certification for approval by the [FISC] that are reasonably designed” to ensure that an acquisition is “limited to targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside” the United States; (2) minimization proceduresadequately restrict the acquisition, retention, and dissemination of nonpublic information about unconsenting U. S. persons, as appropriate; (3) guidelines have been adopted to ensure compliance with targeting limits and the FourthAmendment; and (4) the procedures and guidelines referred to above comport with the Fourth Amendment. §1881a(g)(2); see §1801(h). The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s role includes determining whether the Government’s certification contains the required elements. Additionally, the Court assesses whether the targeting procedures are“reasonably designed” (1) to “ensure that an acquisition . . . is limited to targeting persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States” and (2) to “preventthe intentional acquisition of any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known. . . to be located in the United States.” §1881a(i)(2)(B).The Court analyzes whether the minimization procedures“meet the definition of minimization procedures under section 1801(h) . . . , as appropriate.” §1881a(i)(2)(C). The Court also assesses whether the targeting and minimization procedures are consistent with the statute and the Fourth Amendment. See §1881a(i)(3)(A).3 —————— 3The dissent attempts to downplay the safeguards established by§1881a. See post, at 4 (opinion of BREYER, J.). Notably, the dissentdoes not directly acknowledge that §1881a surveillance must comportwith the Fourth Amendment, see §1881a(b)(5), and that the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Court must assess whether targeting and minimization procedures are consistent with the Fourth Amendment,see §1881a(i)(3)(A). Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 7 Opinion of the Court B Respondents are attorneys and human rights, labor,legal, and media organizations whose work allegedlyrequires them to engage in sensitive and sometimes privileged telephone and e-mail communications with colleagues, clients, sources, and other individuals locatedabroad. Respondents believe that some of the people withwhom they exchange foreign intelligence information arelikely targets of surveillance under §1881a. Specifically,respondents claim that they communicate by telephoneand e-mail with people the Government “believes or believed to be associated with terrorist organizations,” “people located in geographic areas that are a special focus” of the Government’s counterterrorism or diplomatic efforts, and activists who oppose governments that are supported by the United States Government. App. to Pet. for Cert. 399a. Respondents claim that §1881a compromises theirability to locate witnesses, cultivate sources, obtain information, and communicate confidential information to their clients. Respondents also assert that they “have ceasedengaging” in certain telephone and e-mail conversations. Id., at 400a. According to respondents, the threat of surveillance will compel them to travel abroad in order to have in-person conversations. In addition, respondents declare that they have undertaken “costly and burdensome measures” to protect the confidentiality of sensitive communications. Ibid. C On the day when the FISA Amendments Act was en-acted, respondents filed this action seeking (1) a declarationthat §1881a, on its face, violates the Fourth Amendment, the First Amendment, Article III, and separation-ofpowers principles and (2) a permanent injunction against the use of §1881a. Respondents assert what they charac8 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court terize as two separate theories of Article III standing.First, they claim that there is an objectively reasonable likelihood that their communications will be acquired under §1881a at some point in the future, thus causingthem injury. Second, respondents maintain that the risk of surveillance under §1881a is so substantial that they have been forced to take costly and burdensome measuresto protect the confidentiality of their international communications; in their view, the costs they have incurred constitute present injury that is fairly traceable to §1881a.After both parties moved for summary judgment, the District Court held that respondents do not have standing. McConnell, 646 F. Supp. 2d, at 635. On appeal, however,a panel of the Second Circuit reversed. The panel agreedwith respondents’ argument that they have standing due to the objectively reasonable likelihood that their communications will be intercepted at some time in the future.638 F. 3d, at 133, 134, 139. In addition, the panel held that respondents have established that they are suffering“present injuries in fact—economic and professional harms—stemming from a reasonable fear of future harmful government conduct.” Id., at 138. The Second Circuit denied rehearing en banc by an equally divided vote. 667 F. 3d 163 (2011).Because of the importance of the issue and the novelview of standing adopted by the Court of Appeals,we granted certiorari, 566 U. S. ___ (2012), and we now reverse. II Article III of the Constitution limits federal courts’ jurisdiction to certain “Cases” and “Controversies.” As we have explained, “[n]o principle is more fundamental to the judiciary’s proper role in our system of government than the constitutional limitation of federal-court jurisdiction toactual cases or controversies.” DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 9 Opinion of the Court Cuno, 547 U. S. 332, 341 (2006) (internal quotation marksomitted); Raines v. Byrd, 521 U. S. 811, 818 (1997) (internal quotation marks omitted); see, e.g., Summers v. Earth Island Institute, 555 U. S. 488, 492–493 (2009). “One element of the case-or-controversy requirement” is thatplaintiffs “must establish that they have standing to sue.” Raines, supra, at 818; see also Summers, supra, at 492– 493; DaimlerChrysler Corp., supra, at 342; Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S. 555, 560 (1992).The law of Article III standing, which is built on separation-of-powers principles, serves to prevent thejudicial process from being used to usurp the powers of the political branches. Summers, supra, at 492–493; Daimler-Chrysler Corp., supra, at 341–342, 353; Raines, supra, at 818–820; Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U. S. 464, 471–474 (1982); Schlesinger v. Reservists Comm. to Stop the War, 418 U. S. 208, 221–222 (1974). In keeping with the purpose of this doctrine, “[o]ur standing inquiry has been especially rigorous when reaching the merits of the dispute would force us to decide whether an actiontaken by one of the other two branches of the Federal Government was unconstitutional.” Raines, supra, at 819–820; see Valley Forge Christian College, supra, at 473–474; Schlesinger, supra, at 221–222. “Relaxation of standing requirements is directly related to the expansion of judicial power,” United States v. Richardson, 418 U. S. 166, 188 (1974) (Powell, J., concurring); see also Summers, supra, at 492–493; Schlesinger, supra, at 222, and we have often found a lack of standing in cases in which the Judiciary has been requested to review actions of the politicalbranches in the fields of intelligence gathering and foreignaffairs, see, e.g., Richardson, supra, at 167–170 (plaintifflacked standing to challenge the constitutionality of a statute permitting the Central Intelligence Agency to account for its expenditures solely on the certificate of the 10 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court CIA Director); Schlesinger, supra, at 209–211 (plaintiffslacked standing to challenge the Armed Forces Reserve membership of Members of Congress); Laird v. Tatum, 408 U. S. 1, 11–16 (1972) (plaintiffs lacked standing tochallenge an Army intelligence-gathering program). To establish Article III standing, an injury must be“concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; fairly traceable to the challenged action; and redressable by a favorable ruling.” Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U. S. ___, ___ (2010) (slip op., at 7); see also Summers, supra, at 493; Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S., at 560–561. “Although imminence is concededly a somewhat elastic concept, it cannot be stretched beyond its purpose, whichis to ensure that the alleged injury is not too speculative for Article III purposes—that the injury is certainly impending.” Id., at 565, n. 2 (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, we have repeatedly reiterated that “threatened injury must be certainly impending to constitute injury in fact,” and that “[a]llegations of possible future injury” are not sufficient. Whitmore, 495 U. S., at 158 (emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted); see also Defenders of Wildlife, supra, at 565, n. 2, 567, n. 3; see DaimlerChrysler Corp., supra, at 345; Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U. S. 167, 190 (2000); Babbitt v. Farm Workers, 442 U. S. 289, 298 (1979). III A Respondents assert that they can establish injury in factthat is fairly traceable to §1881a because there is an objectively reasonable likelihood that their communicationswith their foreign contacts will be intercepted under§1881a at some point in the future. This argument fails. As an initial matter, the Second Circuit’s “objectivelyreasonable likelihood” standard is inconsistent with our Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 11 Opinion of the Court requirement that “threatened injury must be certainlyimpending to constitute injury in fact.” Whitmore, supra, at 158 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also DaimlerChrysler Corp., supra, at 345; Laidlaw, supra, at 190; Defenders of Wildlife, supra, at 565, n. 2; Babbitt, supra, at 298. Furthermore, respondents’ argument rests on their highly speculative fear that: (1) the Government will decide to target the communications of non-U. S. persons with whom they communicate; (2) in doing so, the Government will choose to invoke its authority under §1881arather than utilizing another method of surveillance; (3) the Article III judges who serve on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court will conclude that the Government’s proposed surveillance procedures satisfy §1881a’smany safeguards and are consistent with the Fourth Amendment; (4) the Government will succeed in inter-cepting the communications of respondents’ contacts; and(5) respondents will be parties to the particular communications that the Government intercepts. As discussed below, respondents’ theory of standing, which relies on ahighly attenuated chain of possibilities, does not satisfy the requirement that threatened injury must be certainlyimpending. See Summers, supra, at 496 (rejecting astanding theory premised on a speculative chain of possibilities); Whitmore, supra, at 157–160 (same). Moreover, even if respondents could demonstrate injury in fact, the second link in the above-described chain of contingencies—which amounts to mere speculation about whether surveillance would be under §1881a or some other authority—shows that respondents cannot satisfy the requirement that any injury in fact must be fairly traceable to §1881a.First, it is speculative whether the Government will imminently target communications to which respondents are parties. Section 1881a expressly provides that respondents, who are U. S. persons, cannot be targeted for 12 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court surveillance under §1881a. See §§1881a(b)(1)–(3); 667F. 3d, at 173 (Raggi, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc). Accordingly, it is no surprise that respondents fail to offer any evidence that their communications have been monitored under §1881a, a failure that substantially undermines their standing theory. See ACLU, 493 F. 3d, at 655–656, 673–674 (opinion of Batchelder, J.) (concluding that plaintiffs who lacked evidence that their communications had been intercepted did not have standing to challenge alleged NSA surveillance). Indeed, respondents do not even allege that the Government has sought the FISC’s approval for surveillance of their communications. Accordingly, respondents’ theory necessarily rests on their assertion that the Government will target other individuals—namely, their foreign contacts. Yet respondents have no actual knowledge of theGovernment’s §1881a targeting practices. Instead, respondents merely speculate and make assumptions about whether their communications with their foreign contactswill be acquired under §1881a. See 667 F. 3d, at 185–187 (opinion of Raggi, J.). For example, journalist Christopher Hedges states: “I have no choice but to assume that any of my international communications may be subject to government surveillance, and I have to make decisions . . . in light of that assumption.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 366a(emphasis added and deleted). Similarly, attorney ScottMcKay asserts that, “[b]ecause of the [FISA Amendments Act], we now have to assume that every one of our international communications may be monitored by the government.” Id., at 375a (emphasis added); see also id., at 337a, 343a–344a, 350a, 356a. “The party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing” standing—and,at the summary judgment stage, such a party “can nolonger rest on . . . ‘mere allegations,’ but must ‘set forth’ byaffidavit or other evidence ‘specific facts.’” Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S., at 561. Respondents, however, have 13 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) Opinion of the Court set forth no specific facts demonstrating that the communications of their foreign contacts will be targeted. More-over, because §1881a at most authorizes—but does not mandate or direct—the surveillance that respondents fear,respondents’ allegations are necessarily conjectural. See United Presbyterian Church in U. S. A. v. Reagan, 738 F. 2d 1375, 1380 (CADC 1984) (Scalia, J.); 667 F. 3d, at 187 (opinion of Raggi, J.). Simply put, respondents canonly speculate as to how the Attorney General and theDirector of National Intelligence will exercise their discretion in determining which communications to target.4 Second, even if respondents could demonstrate that thetargeting of their foreign contacts is imminent, respondents can only speculate as to whether the Government will seek to use §1881a-authorized surveillance (rather than other methods) to do so. The Government has numerous other methods of conducting surveillance, none of which ischallenged here. Even after the enactment of the FISA Amendments Act, for example, the Government may still conduct electronic surveillance of persons abroad under the older provisions of FISA so long as it satisfies the —————— 4It was suggested at oral argument that the Government could help resolve the standing inquiry by disclosing to a court, perhaps through an in camera proceeding, (1) whether it is intercepting respondents’ communications and (2) what targeting or minimization procedures itis using. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 13–14, 44, 56. This suggestion is puzzling. As an initial matter, it is respondents’ burden to prove their standing by pointing to specific facts, Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S. 555, 561 (1992), not the Government’s burden to disprovestanding by revealing details of its surveillance priorities. Moreover, this type of hypothetical disclosure proceeding would allow a terrorist(or his attorney) to determine whether he is currently under U. S.surveillance simply by filing a lawsuit challenging the Government’ssurveillance program. Even if the terrorist’s attorney were to complywith a protective order prohibiting him from sharing the Government’sdisclosures with his client, the court’s postdisclosure decision aboutwhether to dismiss the suit for lack of standing would surely signal to the terrorist whether his name was on the list of surveillance targets. 14 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court applicable requirements, including a demonstration of probable cause to believe that the person is a foreignpower or agent of a foreign power. See §1805. The Government may also obtain information from the intelligenceservices of foreign nations. Brief for Petitioners 33. And, although we do not reach the question, the Government contends that it can conduct FISA-exempt human and technical surveillance programs that are governed by Executive Order 12333. See Exec. Order No. 12333, §§1.4,2.1–2.5, 3 CFR 202, 210–212 (1981), reprinted as amended,note following 50 U. S. C. §401, pp. 543, 547–548. Even if respondents could demonstrate that their foreigncontacts will imminently be targeted—indeed, even if they could show that interception of their own communications will imminently occur—they would still need to show that their injury is fairly traceable to §1881a. But, because respondents can only speculate as to whether any (asserted) interception would be under §1881a or someother authority, they cannot satisfy the “fairly traceable” requirement.Third, even if respondents could show that the Government will seek the Foreign Intelligence SurveillanceCourt’s authorization to acquire the communications ofrespondents’ foreign contacts under §1881a, respondents can only speculate as to whether that court will authorize such surveillance. In the past, we have been reluctant toendorse standing theories that require guesswork as to how independent decisionmakers will exercise their judgment. In Whitmore, for example, the plaintiff ’s theory ofstanding hinged largely on the probability that he wouldobtain federal habeas relief and be convicted upon retrial. In holding that the plaintiff lacked standing, we explainedthat “[i]t is just not possible for a litigant to prove in advance that the judicial system will lead to any particularresult in his case.” 495 U. S., at 159–160; see Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S., at 562. 15 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) Opinion of the Court We decline to abandon our usual reluctance to endorse standing theories that rest on speculation about the decisions of independent actors. Section 1881a mandates that the Government must obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s approval of targeting procedures, minimization procedures, and a governmental certificationregarding proposed surveillance. §§1881a(a), (c)(1), (i)(2), (i)(3). The Court must, for example, determine whetherthe Government’s procedures are “reasonably designed . . .to minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit thedissemination, of nonpublicly available information concerning unconsenting United States persons.” §1801(h); see §§1881a(i)(2), (i)(3)(A). And, critically, the Court must also assess whether the Government’s targeting and minimization procedures comport with the Fourth Amendment. §1881a(i)(3)(A). Fourth, even if the Government were to obtain the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s approval to tar-get respondents’ foreign contacts under §1881a, it isunclear whether the Government would succeed in acquiring the communications of respondents’ foreign contacts. And fifth, even if the Government were to conduct surveillance of respondents’ foreign contacts, respondents canonly speculate as to whether their own communications with their foreign contacts would be incidentally acquired. In sum, respondents’ speculative chain of possibilities does not establish that injury based on potential future surveillance is certainly impending or is fairly traceable to §1881a.5 —————— 5Our cases do not uniformly require plaintiffs to demonstrate that it is literally certain that the harms they identify will come about. In some instances, we have found standing based on a “substantial risk”that the harm will occur, which may prompt plaintiffs to reasonably incur costs to mitigate or avoid that harm. Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U. S. ___, ___ (2010) (slip op., at 11–12). See also Pennell v. City of San Jose, 485 U. S. 1, 8 (1988); Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 16 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court B Respondents’ alternative argument—namely, that theycan establish standing based on the measures that they have undertaken to avoid §1881a-authorized surveillance—fares no better. Respondents assert that they aresuffering ongoing injuries that are fairly traceable to§1881a because the risk of surveillance under §1881a requires them to take costly and burdensome measures toprotect the confidentiality of their communications. Respondents claim, for instance, that the threat of surveillance sometimes compels them to avoid certain e-mail and phone conversations, to “tal[k] in generalities rather thanspecifics,” or to travel so that they can have in-person conversations. Tr. of Oral Arg. 38; App. to Pet. for Cert.338a, 345a, 367a, 400a.6 The Second Circuit panel concluded that, because respondents are already sufferingsuch ongoing injuries, the likelihood of interception under §1881a is relevant only to the question whether respondents’ ongoing injuries are “fairly traceable” to §1881a. See —————— U. S. 991, 1000–1001 (1982); Babbitt v. Farm Workers, 442 U. S. 289, 298 (1979). But to the extent that the “substantial risk” standard is relevant and is distinct from the “clearly impending” requirement, respondents fall short of even that standard, in light of the attenuatedchain of inferences necessary to find harm here. See supra, at 11–15. In addition, plaintiffs bear the burden of pleading and proving concrete facts showing that the defendant’s actual action has caused the substantial risk of harm. Plaintiffs cannot rely on speculation about “ ‘the unfettered choices made by independent actors not before the court.’ ” Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S., at 562. 6For all the focus on respondents’ supposed need to travel abroad inlight of potential §1881a surveillance, respondents cite only one specificinstance of travel: an attorney’s trip to New York City to meet with other lawyers. See App. to Pet. for Cert. 352a. This domestic travel had but a tenuous connection to §1881a, because §1881a-authorizedacquisitions “may not intentionally target any person known at thetime of acquisition to be located in the United States.” §1881a(b)(1); seealso 667 F. 3d 163, 202 (CA2 2011) (Jacobs, C. J., dissenting fromdenial of rehearing en banc); id., at 185 (opinion of Raggi, J. (same)). Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 17 Opinion of the Court 638 F. 3d, at 133–134; 667 F. 3d, at 180 (opinion of Raggi,J.). Analyzing the “fairly traceable” element of standingunder a relaxed reasonableness standard, see 638 F. 3d, at 133–134, the Second Circuit then held that “plaintiffs have established that they suffered present injuries infact—economic and professional harms—stemming from a reasonable fear of future harmful government conduct,” id., at 138. The Second Circuit’s analysis improperly allowed respondents to establish standing by asserting that they suffer present costs and burdens that are based on a fearof surveillance, so long as that fear is not “fanciful, paranoid, or otherwise unreasonable.” See id., at 134. This improperly waters down the fundamental requirements of Article III. Respondents’ contention that they have standing because they incurred certain costs as a reasonablereaction to a risk of harm is unavailing—because the harmrespondents seek to avoid is not certainly impending. In other words, respondents cannot manufacture standingmerely by inflicting harm on themselves based on their fears of hypothetical future harm that is not certainly impending. See Pennsylvania v. New Jersey, 426 U. S. 660, 664 (1976) (per curiam); National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Assn., Inc., 468 F. 3d 826, 831 (CADC 2006). Any ongoing injuries that respondents are suffering are not fairly traceable to §1881a. If the law were otherwise, an enterprising plaintiffwould be able to secure a lower standard for Article III standing simply by making an expenditure based on a nonparanoid fear. As Judge Raggi accurately noted, underthe Second Circuit panel’s reasoning, respondents could, “for the price of a plane ticket, . . . transform their standing burden from one requiring a showing of actual or imminent . . . interception to one requiring a showing thattheir subjective fear of such interception is not fanciful, irrational, or clearly unreasonable.” 667 F. 3d, at 180 18 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, allowing respondents to bring this action based on costs they incurredin response to a speculative threat would be tantamount to accepting a repackaged version of respondents’ firstfailed theory of standing. See ACLU, 493 F. 3d, at 656– 657 (opinion of Batchelder, J.).Another reason that respondents’ present injuries are not fairly traceable to §1881a is that even before §1881a was enacted, they had a similar incentive to engage in many of the countermeasures that they are now taking.See id., at 668–670. For instance, respondent ScottMcKay’s declaration describes—and the dissent heavily relies on—Mr. McKay’s “knowledge” that thousands ofcommunications involving one of his clients were monitored in the past. App. to Pet. for Cert. 370a; post, at 4, 7–8. But this surveillance was conducted pursuant to FISA authority that predated §1881a. See Brief for Petitioners 32, n. 11; Al-Kidd v. Gonzales, No. 05–cv–93, 2008 WL 5123009 (D Idaho, Dec. 4, 2008). Thus, because the Government was allegedly conducting surveillance of Mr.McKay’s client before Congress enacted §1881a, it is difficult to see how the safeguards that Mr. McKay now claimsto have implemented can be traced to §1881a.Because respondents do not face a threat of certainlyimpending interception under §1881a, the costs that they have incurred to avoid surveillance are simply the product of their fear of surveillance,7 and our decision in Laird —————— 7Although respondents’ alternative theory of standing rests primarilyon choices that they have made based on their subjective fear of surveillance, respondents also assert that third parties might be disinclined tospeak with them due to a fear of surveillance. See App. to Pet. for Cert.372a–373a, 352a–353a. To the extent that such assertions are based on anything other than conjecture, see Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S., at 560, they do not establish injury that is fairly traceable to §1881a, because they are based on third parties’ subjective fear of surveillance, see Laird, 408 U. S., at 10–14. Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 19 Opinion of the Court makes it clear that such a fear is insufficient to create standing. See 408 U. S., at 10–15. The plaintiffs in Laird argued that their exercise of First Amendment rights wasbeing “chilled by the mere existence, without more, of [theArmy’s] investigative and data-gathering activity.” Id., at 10. While acknowledging that prior cases had held thatconstitutional violations may arise from the chilling effect of “regulations that fall short of a direct prohibi-tion against the exercise of First Amendment rights,” the Court declared that none of those cases involved a “chilling effect aris[ing] merely from the individual’s knowledge that a governmental agency was engaged incertain activities or from the individual’s concomitant fear that, armed with the fruits of those activities, the agencymight in the future take some other and additional action detrimental to that individual.” Id., at 11. Because “[a]llegations of a subjective ‘chill’ are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm ora threat of specific future harm,” id., at 13–14, the plaintiffs in Laird—and respondents here—lack standing. See ibid.; ACLU, supra, at 661–662 (opinion of Batchelder, J.) (holding that plaintiffs lacked standing because they“allege[d] only a subjective apprehension” of alleged NSA surveillance and “a personal (self-imposed) unwillingnessto communicate”); United Presbyterian Church, 738 F. 2d, at 1378 (holding that plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the legality of an Executive Order relating to surveillance because “the ‘chilling effect’ which is produced by their fear of being subjected to illegal surveillance and which deters them from conducting constitutionally protected activities, is foreclosed as a basis for standing” by Laird).For the reasons discussed above, respondents’ selfinflicted injuries are not fairly traceable to the Government’s purported activities under §1881a, and their subjective fear of surveillance does not give rise to standing. 20 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court IV A Respondents incorrectly maintain that “[t]he kinds ofinjuries incurred here—injuries incurred because of [respondents’] reasonable efforts to avoid greater injuriesthat are otherwise likely to flow from the conduct they challenge—are the same kinds of injuries that this Courtheld to support standing in cases such as” Laidlaw, Meese v. Keene, 481 U. S. 465 (1987), and Monsanto. Brief for Respondents 24. As an initial matter, none of these cases holds or even suggests that plaintiffs can establish standing simply by claiming that they experienced a “chilling effect” that resulted from a governmental policy that does not regulate, constrain, or compel any action on their part.Moreover, each of these cases was very different from the present case.In Laidlaw, plaintiffs’ standing was based on “the proposition that a company’s continuous and pervasive illegaldischarges of pollutants into a river would cause nearby residents to curtail their recreational use of that waterwayand would subject them to other economic and aesthetic harms.” 528 U. S., at 184. Because the unlawful discharges of pollutants were “concededly ongoing,” the onlyissue was whether “nearby residents”—who were members of the organizational plaintiffs—acted reasonably inrefraining from using the polluted area. Id., at 183–184. Laidlaw is therefore quite unlike the present case, in which it is not “concede[d]” that respondents would besubject to unlawful surveillance but for their decision totake preventive measures. See ACLU, 493 F. 3d, at 686 (opinion of Batchelder, J.) (distinguishing Laidlaw on this ground); id., at 689–690 (Gibbons, J., concurring) (same);667 F. 3d, at 182–183 (opinion of Raggi, J.) (same). Laidlaw would resemble this case only if (1) it were undisputed that the Government was using §1881aauthorized surveillance to acquire respondents’ communi21 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) Opinion of the Court cations and (2) the sole dispute concerned the reasonableness of respondents’ preventive measures. In Keene, the plaintiff challenged the constitutionality of the Government’s decision to label three films as “political propaganda.” 481 U. S., at 467. The Court held that the plaintiff, who was an attorney and a state legislator, had standing because he demonstrated, through “detailedaffidavits,” that he “could not exhibit the films without incurring a risk of injury to his reputation and of an impairment of his political career.” Id., at 467, 473–475. Unlike the present case, Keene involved “more than a ‘subjective chill’” based on speculation about potential governmental action; the plaintiff in that case was unquestionably regulated by the relevant statute, and thefilms that he wished to exhibit had already been labeled as “political propaganda.” See ibid.; ACLU, 493 F. 3d, at 663–664 (opinion of Batchelder, J.); id., at 691 (Gibbons, J., concurring). Monsanto, on which respondents also rely, is likewise inapposite. In Monsanto, conventional alfalfa farmers had standing to seek injunctive relief because the agency’sdecision to deregulate a variety of genetically engineered alfalfa gave rise to a “significant risk of gene flow tonon-genetically-engineered varieties of alfalfa.” 561 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 13). The standing analysis in that casehinged on evidence that genetically engineered alfalfa “‘seed fields [we]re currently being planted in all the major alfalfa seed production areas’”; the bees that pollinate alfalfa “‘have a range of at least two to ten miles’”;and the alfalfa seed farms were concentrated in an area well within the bees’ pollination range. Id., at ___–___, and n. 3 (slip op., at 11–12, and n. 3). Unlike the conventional alfalfa farmers in Monsanto, however, respondents in the present case present no concrete evidence to substantiate their fears, but instead rest on mere conjectureabout possible governmental actions. 22 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court B Respondents also suggest that they should be held tohave standing because otherwise the constitutionalityof §1881a could not be challenged. It would be wrong,they maintain, to “insulate the government’s surveillance activities from meaningful judicial review.” Brief for Respondents 60. Respondents’ suggestion is both legallyand factually incorrect. First, “‘[t]he assumption that if respondents have no standing to sue, no one would have standing, is not a reason to find standing.’” Valley Forge Christian College, 454 U. S., at 489; Schlesinger, 418 U. S., at 227; see also Richardson, 418 U. S., at 179; Raines, 521 U. S., at 835 (Souter, J., joined by GINSBURG, J., concurring in judgment).Second, our holding today by no means insulates §1881a from judicial review. As described above, Congress created a comprehensive scheme in which the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Court evaluates the Government’s certifications, targeting procedures, and minimization procedures—including assessing whether the targeting and minimization procedures comport with the FourthAmendment. §§1881a(a), (c)(1), (i)(2), (i)(3). Any dissatisfaction that respondents may have about the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Court’s rulings—or the congressional delineation of that court’s role—is irrelevant to our standing analysis.Additionally, if the Government intends to use or disclose information obtained or derived from a §1881a acquisition in judicial or administrative proceedings, it must provide advance notice of its intent, and the affectedperson may challenge the lawfulness of the acquisition.§§1806(c), 1806(e), 1881e(a) (2006 ed. and Supp. V).8 —————— 8The possibility of judicial review in this context is not farfetched. In United States v. Damrah, 412 F. 3d 618 (CA6 2005), for example, the Government made a pretrial disclosure that it intended to use FISA Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 23 Opinion of the Court Thus, if the Government were to prosecute one ofrespondent-attorney’s foreign clients using §1881a-authorized surveillance, the Government would be required to make a disclosure. Although the foreign client might not have a viable Fourth Amendment claim, see, e.g., United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U. S. 259, 261 (1990), it is possible that the monitoring of the target’s conversations with hisor her attorney would provide grounds for a claim of standing on the part of the attorney. Such an attorneywould certainly have a stronger evidentiary basis for establishing standing than do respondents in the present case. In such a situation, unlike in the present case, it would at least be clear that the Government had acquired the foreign client’s communications using §1881aauthorized surveillance. Finally, any electronic communications service providerthat the Government directs to assist in §1881a surveillance may challenge the lawfulness of that directive before the FISC. §§1881a(h)(4), (6). Indeed, at the behest of a service provider, the Foreign Intelligence SurveillanceCourt of Review previously analyzed the constitutionality of electronic surveillance directives issued pursuant to anow-expired set of FISA amendments. See In re Directives Pursuant to Section 105B of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 551 F. 3d 1004, 1006–1016 (2008) (holding that the provider had standing and that the directives were constitutional). * * * We hold that respondents lack Article III standingbecause they cannot demonstrate that the future injury —————— evidence in a prosecution; the defendant (unsuccessfully) moved to suppress the FISA evidence, even though he had not been the target of the surveillance; and the Sixth Circuit ultimately held that FISA’sprocedures are consistent with the Fourth Amendment. See id., at 622, 623, 625. 24 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA Opinion of the Court they purportedly fear is certainly impending and becausethey cannot manufacture standing by incurring costs inanticipation of non-imminent harm. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Second Circuit and remand the casefor further proceedings consistent with this opinion. It is so ordered. _________________ _________________ Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 1 BREYER, J., dissenting SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 11–1025 JAMES R. CLAPPER, JR., DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA ET AL. ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT [February 26, 2013] JUSTICE BREYER, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG, JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, and JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting. The plaintiffs’ standing depends upon the likelihood that the Government, acting under the authority of 50U. S. C. §1881a (2006 ed., Supp. V), will harm them by intercepting at least some of their private, foreign, telephone, or e-mail conversations. In my view, this harm is not “speculative.” Indeed it is as likely to take place as are most future events that commonsense inference and ordinary knowledge of human nature tell us will happen. This Court has often found the occurrence of similar future events sufficiently certain to support standing. I dissent from the Court’s contrary conclusion. I Article III specifies that the “judicial Power” of the United States extends only to actual “Cases” and “Controversies.” §2. It thereby helps to ensure that the legalquestions presented to the federal courts will not take the form of abstract intellectual problems resolved in the“rarified atmosphere of a debating society” but insteadthose questions will be presented “in a concrete factualcontext conducive to a realistic appreciation of the consequences of judicial action.” Valley Forge Christian College 2 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U. S. 464, 472 (1982) (purpose of Article III); Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S. 555, 560 (1992) (similar); Babbitt v. Farm Workers, 442 U. S. 289, 297 (1979) (similar).The Court has recognized that the precise boundaries of the “case or controversy” requirement are matters of “degree . . . not discernible by any precise test.” Ibid. At the same time, the Court has developed a subsidiary set of legal rules that help to determine when the Constitution’srequirement is met. See Lujan, 504 U. S., at 560–561; id., at 583 (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment). Thus, a plaintiff must have “standing” to bring a legal claim. And a plaintiff has that standing, the Court has said, only if the action or omission that the plaintiff challenges has caused, or will cause, the plaintiff to suffer an injury thatis “concrete and particularized,” “actual or imminent,” and “redress[able] by a favorable decision.” Id., at 560–561 (internal quotation marks omitted).No one here denies that the Government’s interceptionof a private telephone or e-mail conversation amounts to an injury that is “concrete and particularized.” Moreover, the plaintiffs, respondents here, seek as relief a judgment declaring unconstitutional (and enjoining enforcement of) a statutory provision authorizing those interceptions; and, such a judgment would redress the injury by preventing it.Thus, the basic question is whether the injury, i.e., the interception, is “actual or imminent.” II A Since the plaintiffs fear interceptions of a kind authorized by §1881a, it is important to understand just what kind of surveillance that section authorizes. Congressenacted §1881a in 2008, as an amendment to the preexisting Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, 50 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 3 BREYER, J., dissenting U. S. C. §1801 et seq. Before the amendment, the Act authorized the Government (acting within the UnitedStates) to monitor private electronic communications between the United States and a foreign country if (1) the Government’s purpose was, in significant part, to obtainforeign intelligence information (which includes information concerning a “foreign power” or “territory” relatedto our “national defense” or “security” or the “conduct of. . . foreign affairs”), (2) the Government’s surveillance target was “a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power,” and (3) the Government used surveillance procedures designed to “minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of ” any private information acquired about Americans. §§1801(e), (h), 1804(a). In addition the Government had to obtain the approvalof the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. To do so, it had to submit an application describing (1) each “specific target,” (2) the “nature of the information sought,” and (3) the “type of communications or activities to be subjectedto the surveillance.” §1804(a). It had to certify that, in significant part, it sought to obtain foreign intelligenceinformation. Ibid. It had to demonstrate probable causeto believe that each specific target was “a foreign power oran agent of a foreign power.” §§1804(a), 1805(a). It also had to describe instance-specific procedures to be used to minimize intrusions upon Americans’ privacy (compliance with which the court subsequently could assess). §§1804(a), 1805(d)(3). The addition of §1881a in 2008 changed this prior law inthree important ways. First, it eliminated the requirement that the Government describe to the court each specific target and identify each facility at which its surveillance would be directed, thus permitting surveillanceon a programmatic, not necessarily individualized, basis.§1881a(g). Second, it eliminated the requirement that atarget be a “foreign power or an agent of a foreign power.” 4 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting Ibid. Third, it diminished the court’s authority toinsist upon, and eliminated its authority to supervise, instance-specific privacy-intrusion minimization procedures(though the Government still must use court-approved general minimization procedures). §1881a(e). Thus, usingthe authority of §1881a, the Government can obtain court approval for its surveillance of electronic communications between places within the United States and targets in foreign territories by showing the court (1) that “a significant purpose of the acquisition is to obtain foreignintelligence information,” and (2) that it will use generaltargeting and privacy-intrusion minimization procedures of a kind that the court had previously approved. §1881a(g). B It is similarly important to understand the kinds ofcommunications in which the plaintiffs say they engageand which they believe the Government will intercept. Plaintiff Scott McKay, for example, says in an affidavit (1)that he is a lawyer; (2) that he represented “Mr. SamiOmar Al-Hussayen, who was acquitted in June 2004 onterrorism charges”; (3) that he continues to represent “Mr.Al-Hussayen, who, in addition to facing criminal charges after September 11, was named as a defendant in several civil cases”; (4) that he represents Khalid Sheik Mohammed, a detainee, “before the Military Commissions atGuantánamo Bay, Cuba”; (5) that in representing theseclients he “communicate[s] by telephone and email withpeople outside the United States, including Mr. Al-Hussayen himself,” “experts, investigators, attorneys,family members . . . and others who are located abroad”;and (6) that prior to 2008 “the U. S. government had intercepted some 10,000 telephone calls and 20,000 emailcommunications involving [his client] Al-Hussayen.” App.to Pet. for Cert. 369a–371a. Another plaintiff, Sylvia Royce, says in her affidavit (1) Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 5 BREYER, J., dissenting that she is an attorney; (2) that she “represent[s] Mohammedou Ould Salahi, a prisoner who has been held atGuantánamo Bay as an enemy combatant”; (3) that, “[i]n connection with [her] representation of Mr. Salahi, [she]receive[s] calls from time to time from Mr. Salahi’s brother, . . . a university student in Germany”; and (4) that she has been told that the Government has threatened Salahi “that his family members would be arrested and mistreated if he did not cooperate.” Id., at 349a–351a. The plaintiffs have noted that McKay no longer represents Mohammed and Royce no longer represents Ould Salahi. Brief for Respondents 15, n. 11. But these changesare irrelevant, for we assess standing as of the time asuit is filed, see Davis v. Federal Election Comm’n, 554 U. S. 724, 734 (2008), and in any event McKay himself continues to represent Al Hussayen, his partner now represents Mohammed, and Royce continues to represent individuals held in the custody of the U. S. military overseas. A third plaintiff, Joanne Mariner, says in her affidavit (1) that she is a human rights researcher, (2) that “some of the work [she] do[es] involves trying to track down people who were rendered by the CIA to countries in which theywere tortured”; (3) that many of those people “the CIA hassaid are (or were) associated with terrorist organizations”;and (4) that, to do this research, she “communicate[s] bytelephone and e-mail with . . . former detainees, lawyers for detainees, relatives of detainees, political activists,journalists, and fixers” “all over the world, including in Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, [and] the Gaza Strip.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 343a–344a.Other plaintiffs, including lawyers, journalists, andhuman rights researchers, say in affidavits (1) that theyhave jobs that require them to gather information from foreigners located abroad; (2) that they regularly communicate electronically (e.g., by telephone or e-mail) with 6 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting foreigners located abroad; and (3) that in these communications they exchange “foreign intelligence information” as the Act defines it. Id., at 334a–375a. III Several considerations, based upon the record alongwith commonsense inferences, convince me that there is a very high likelihood that Government, acting under the authority of §1881a, will intercept at least some of thecommunications just described. First, the plaintiffs haveengaged, and continue to engage, in electronic communications of a kind that the 2008 amendment, but not the prior Act, authorizes the Government to intercept. These communications include discussions with family members of those detained at Guantanamo, friends and acquaintances of those persons, and investigators, experts and others with knowledge of circumstances related to terrorist activities. These persons are foreigners located outside the United States. They are not “foreign power[s]” or “agent[s] of . . . foreign power[s].” And the plaintiffs state that they exchange with these persons “foreign intelligence information,” defined to include information that “relates to” “international terrorism” and “the national defense or the security of the United States.” See 50 U. S. C. §1801 (2006 ed. and Supp. V); see, e.g., App. to Pet. for Cert. 342a, 366a, 373a–374a. Second, the plaintiffs have a strong motive to engage in, and the Government has a strong motive to listen to, conversations of the kind described. A lawyer representing a client normally seeks to learn the circumstancessurrounding the crime (or the civil wrong) of which the client is accused. A fair reading of the affidavit of Scott McKay, for example, taken together with elementary considerations of a lawyer’s obligation to his client, indicates that McKay will engage in conversations that concern what suspected foreign terrorists, such as his client, Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 7 BREYER, J., dissenting have done; in conversations that concern his clients’ families, colleagues, and contacts; in conversations that concern what those persons (or those connected to them) have said and done, at least in relation to terrorist activities; in conversations that concern the political, social, and commercial environments in which the suspected terrorists have lived and worked; and so forth. See, e.g., id., at 373a–374a. Journalists and human rights workers havestrong similar motives to conduct conversations of thiskind. See, e.g., id., at 342a (Declaration of Joanne Mariner, stating that “some of the information [she] exchange[s] by telephone and e-mail relates to terrorism and counterterrorism, and much of the information relates to the foreign affairs of the United States”).At the same time, the Government has a strong motiveto conduct surveillance of conversations that contain material of this kind. The Government, after all, seeks to learn as much as it can reasonably learn about suspected terrorists (such as those detained at Guantanamo), as well as about their contacts and activities, along with those of friends and family members. See Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Statement of Administration Policy on S. 2248, p. 4 (Dec. 17, 2007) (“Part of the value of the [new authority] is to enable theIntelligence Community to collect expeditiously the communications of terrorists in foreign countries who maycontact an associate in the United States”). And the Government is motivated to do so, not simply by the desire to help convict those whom the Government believes guilty, but also by the critical, overriding need to protect Americafrom terrorism. See id., at 1 (“Protection of the American people and American interests at home and abroad requires access to timely, accurate, and insightful intelligence on the capabilities, intentions, and activities of . . . terrorists”).Third, the Government’s past behavior shows that it has 8 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting sought, and hence will in all likelihood continue to seek, information about alleged terrorists and detainees through means that include surveillance of electronic communications. As just pointed out, plaintiff ScottMcKay states that the Government (under the authority of the pre-2008 law) “intercepted some 10,000 telephone calls and 20,000 email communications involving [his client] Mr. Al-Hussayen.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 370a. Fourth, the Government has the capacity to conduct electronic surveillance of the kind at issue. To some degree this capacity rests upon technology available to the Government. See 1 D. Kris & J. Wilson, National SecurityInvestigations & Prosecutions §16:6, p. 562 (2d ed. 2012) (“NSA’s technological abilities are legendary”); id., §16:12, at 572–577 (describing the National Security Agency’scapacity to monitor “very broad facilities” such as international switches). See, e.g., Lichtblau & Risen, Spy AgencyMined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report, N. Y. Times, Dec. 24, 2005, p. A1 (describing capacity to trace and to analyze large volumes of communications into and out of the United States); Lichtblau & Shane, Bush is Pressed Over New Report on Surveillance, N. Y. Times, May 12, 2006, p. A1(reporting capacity to obtain access to records of many, if not most, telephone calls made in the United States); Priest & Arkin, A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control,Washington Post, July 19, 2010, p. A1 (reporting thatevery day, collection systems at the National SecurityAgency intercept and store 1.7 billion e-mails, telephonecalls and other types of communications). Cf. Statement of Administration Policy on S. 2248, supra, at 3 (rejectinga provision of the Senate bill that would require intelligence analysts to count “the number of persons located inthe United States whose communications were reviewed” as “impossible to implement” (internal quotation marksomitted)). This capacity also includes the Government’s authority to obtain the kind of information here at issue Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 9 BREYER, J., dissenting from private carriers such as AT&T and Verizon. See 50 U. S. C. §1881a(h). We are further told by amici that the Government is expanding that capacity. See Brief for Electronic Privacy Information Center et al. as 22–23(National Security Agency will be able to conduct surveillance of most electronic communications between domestic and foreign points).Of course, to exercise this capacity the Governmentmust have intelligence court authorization. But the Government rarely files requests that fail to meet the statutory criteria. See Letter from Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General, to Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 1 (Apr. 30,2012) (In 2011, of the 1,676 applications to the intelligence court, two were withdrawn by the Government, and theremaining 1,674 were approved, 30 with some modification), online at http://www.justice.gov/nsd/foia/foia_library/2011fisa-ltr.pdf. (as visited Feb. 22, 2013, and available in Clerk of Court’s case file). As the intelligencecourt itself has stated, its review under §1881a is “narrowly circumscribed.” In re Proceedings Required by §702(i)of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, No. Misc. 08–01 (Aug. 17, 2008), p. 3. There is no reason to believe that the communications described would all fail to meet the conditions necessary for approval. Moreover, comparedwith prior law, §1881a simplifies and thus expedites theapproval process, making it more likely that the Government will use §1881a to obtain the necessary approval. The upshot is that (1) similarity of content, (2) strongmotives, (3) prior behavior, and (4) capacity all point to avery strong likelihood that the Government will intercept at least some of the plaintiffs’ communications, including some that the 2008 amendment, §1881a, but not the pre2008 Act, authorizes the Government to intercept.At the same time, nothing suggests the presence of some special factor here that might support a contrary conclusion. The Government does not deny that it has both the 10 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting motive and the capacity to listen to communications of the kind described by plaintiffs. Nor does it describe any system for avoiding the interception of an electronic communication that happens to include a party who is anAmerican lawyer, journalist, or human rights worker.One can, of course, always imagine some special circumstance that negates a virtual likelihood, no matter how strong. But the same is true about most, if not all, ordinary inferences about future events. Perhaps, despitepouring rain, the streets will remain dry (due to the presence of a special chemical). But ordinarily a party that seeks to defeat a strong natural inference must bear theburden of showing that some such special circumstance exists. And no one has suggested any such special circumstance here. Consequently, we need only assume that the Government is doing its job (to find out about, and combat, terrorism) in order to conclude that there is a high probability that the Government will intercept at least some electronic communication to which at least some of the plaintiffs are parties. The majority is wrong when it describes the harm threatened plaintiffs as “speculative.” IV A The majority more plausibly says that the plaintiffs have failed to show that the threatened harm is “certainly impending.” Ante, at 10 (internal quotation marks omitted). But, as the majority appears to concede, see ante, at 15–16, and n. 5, certainty is not, and never has been, the touchstone of standing. The future is inherently uncertain. Yet federal courts frequently entertain actions for injunctions and for declaratory relief aimed at preventingfuture activities that are reasonably likely or highly likely, but not absolutely certain, to take place. And that degree of certainty is all that is needed to support standing here. 11 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) BREYER, J., dissenting The Court’s use of the term “certainly impending” is notto the contrary. Sometimes the Court has used the phrase“certainly impending” as if the phrase described a sufficient, rather than a necessary, condition for jurisdiction. See Pennsylvania v. West Virginia, 262 U. S. 553, 593 (1923) (“If the injury is certainly impending that is enough”). See also Babbitt, 442 U. S., at 298 (same). On other occasions, it has used the phrase as if it concerned when, not whether, an alleged injury would occur. Thus, in Lujan, 504 U. S., at 564, n. 2, the Court considered a threatened future injury that consisted of harm that plaintiffs would suffer when they “soon” visited a government project area that (they claimed) would suffer environmental damage. The Court wrote that a “mere profession of an intent, some day, to return” to the project areadid not show the harm was “imminent,” for “soon” might mean nothing more than “in this lifetime.” Id., at 564– 565, n. 2 (internal quotation marks omitted). Similarly,in McConnell v. Federal Election Comm’n, 540 U. S. 93 (2003), the Court denied standing because the Senator’sfuture injury (stemming from a campaign finance law) would not affect him until his reelection. That fact, the Court said, made the injury “too remote temporally tosatisfy Article III standing.” Id., at 225–226. On still other occasions, recognizing that “‘imminence’ is concededly a somewhat elastic concept,” Lujan, supra, at 565, n. 2, the Court has referred to, or used (sometimesalong with “certainly impending”) other phrases such as“reasonable probability” that suggest less than absolute, or literal certainty. See Babbitt, supra, at 298 (plaintiff “must demonstrate a realistic danger of sustaining a directinjury” (emphasis added)); Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., 528 U. S. 167, 190 (2000) (“[I]t is the plaintiff ’s burden to establish standing by demonstrating that . . . the defendant’s allegedly wrongful behavior will likely occur or continue”). See 12 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting also Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U. S. ___, ___ (2010) (slip op., at 11) (“‘“reasonable probability” ’” and “substantial risk”); Davis, 554 U. S., at 734 (“realistic and impending threat of direct injury”); MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U. S. 118, 129 (2007) (“genuine threat of enforcement”); Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives, 525 U. S. 316, 333 (1999) (“substantially likely” (internal quotation marks omitted)); Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U. S. 417, 432 (1998) (“sufficient likelihood of economic injury”); Pennell v. San Jose, 485 U. S. 1, 8 (1988) (“realistic danger” (internal quotation marks omitted)); Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U. S. 991, 1001 (1982) (“quite realistic” threat); Bryant v. Yellen, 447 U. S. 352, 367–368 (1980) (“likely”); Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1, 74 (1976) (per curiam) (“reasonable probability”). Taken together the case law uses the word “certainly” as if it emphasizes, rather than literally defines, theimmediately following term “impending.” B 1 More important, the Court’s holdings in standing casesshow that standing exists here. The Court has often found standing where the occurrence of the relevant injury was far less certain than here. Consider a few, fairly typical, cases. Consider Pennell, supra. A city ordinance forbade landlords to raise the rent charged to a tenant by more than 8 percent where doing so would work an unreasonably severe hardship on that tenant. Id., at 4–5. A group oflandlords sought a judgment declaring the ordinance unconstitutional. The Court held that, to have standing, the landlords had to demonstrate a “‘realistic danger of sustaining a direct injury as a result of the statute’s operation.’” Id., at 8 (emphasis added). It found that the landlords had done so by showing a likelihood of enforcement and a “probability,” ibid., that the ordinance would make Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) 13 BREYER, J., dissenting the landlords charge lower rents—even though the landlords had not shown (1) that they intended to raise therelevant rents to the point of causing unreasonably severe hardship; (2) that the tenants would challenge those increases; or (3) that the city’s hearing examiners and arbitrators would find against the landlords. Here, even more so than in Pennell, there is a “realistic danger” that the relevant harm will occur. Or, consider Blum, supra. A group of nursing homeresidents receiving Medicaid benefits challenged the constitutionality (on procedural grounds) of a regulation thatpermitted their nursing home to transfer them to a lessdesirable home. Id., at 999–1000. Although a Medicaid committee had recommended transfers, Medicaid-initiated transfer had been enjoined and the nursing home itself had not threatened to transfer the plaintiffs. But the Court found “standing” because “the threat of transfers” was “not ‘imaginary or speculative’” but “quite realistic,” hence “sufficiently substantial.” Id., at 1000–1001 (quoting Younger v. Harris, 401 U. S. 37, 42 (1971)). The plaintiffs’ injury here is not imaginary or speculative, but “quite realistic.” Or, consider Davis, supra. The plaintiff, a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, self-financed his campaigns. He challenged the constitutionality of anelection law that relaxed the limits on an opponent’s contributions when a self-financed candidate’s spending itselfexceeded certain other limits. His opponent, in fact, had decided not to take advantage of the increased contribution limits that the statute would have allowed. Id., at 734. But the Court nonetheless found standing becausethere was a “realistic and impending threat,” not a certainty, that the candidate’s opponent would do so at the time the plaintiff filed the complaint. Id., at 734–735. The threat facing the plaintiffs here is as “realistic andimpending.” 14 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting Or, consider MedImmune, supra. The plaintiff, a patentlicensee, sought a declaratory judgment that the patent was invalid. But, the plaintiff did not face an imminent threat of suit because it continued making royalty payments to the patent holder. In explaining why the plaintiff had standing, we (1) assumed that if the plaintiff stopped making royalty payments it would have standing (despite the fact that the patent holder might not bringsuit), (2) rejected the Federal Circuit’s “reasonable apprehension of imminent suit” requirement, and (3) instead suggested that a “genuine threat of enforcement” waslikely sufficient. Id., at 128, 129, 132, n. 11 (internal quotation marks omitted). A “genuine threat” is present here. Moreover, courts have often found probabilistic injuriessufficient to support standing. In Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., 438 U. S. 59 (1978), for example, the plaintiffs, a group of individuals living near a proposed nuclear powerplant, challenged the constitutionality of the Price-Anderson Act, a statute thatlimited the plant’s liability in the case of a nuclear accident. The plaintiffs said that, without the Act, the defendants would not build a nuclear plant. And the buildingof the plant would harm them, in part, by emitting “non-natural radiation into [their] environment.” Id., at 74. The Court found standing in part due to “our generalized concern about exposure to radiation and the apprehension flowing from the uncertainty about the health and genetic consequences of even small emissions.” Ibid. (emphasis added). See also Monsanto Co., supra, at ___ (slip op., at 11–12) (“A substantial risk of gene flow injuresrespondents in several ways” (emphasis added)). See also lower court cases, such as Mountain States Legal Foundation v. Glickman, 92 F. 3d 1228, 1234–1235 (CADC 1996) (plaintiffs attack Government decision to limit timber harvesting; standing based upon increased 15 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) BREYER, J., dissenting risk of wildfires); Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, 464 F. 3d 1, 7 (CADC 2006) (plaintiffs attack Government decision deregulating methyl bromide; standingbased upon increased lifetime risk of developing skincancer); Constellation Energy Commodities Group, Inc. v. FERC, 457 F. 3d 14, 20 (CADC 2006) (standing based on increased risk of nonrecovery inherent in the reduction of collateral securing a debt of uncertain amount); Sutton v. St. Jude Medical S. C., Inc., 419 F. 3d 568, 570–575 (CA62005) (standing based on increased risk of harm caused by implantation of defective medical device); Johnson v. Allsteel, Inc., 259 F. 3d 885, 888–891 (CA7 2001) (standing based on increased risk that Employee RetirementIncome Security Act beneficiary will not be covered due to increased amount of discretion given to ERISA administrator).How could the law be otherwise? Suppose that a federalcourt faced a claim by homeowners that (allegedly) unlawful dam-building practices created a high risk that theirhomes would be flooded. Would the court deny themstanding on the ground that the risk of flood was only 60, rather than 90, percent? Would federal courts deny standing to a plaintiff in adiversity action who claims an anticipatory breach of contract where the future breach depends on probabilities?The defendant, say, has threatened to load wheat onto a ship bound for India despite a promise to send the wheat to the United States. No one can know for certain that this will happen. Perhaps the defendant will change hismind; perhaps the ship will turn and head for the United States. Yet, despite the uncertainty, the Constitution doesnot prohibit a federal court from hearing such a claim. See 23 R. Lord, Williston on Contracts §63:35 (4th ed.2002) (plaintiff may bring an anticipatory breach suit even though the defendant’s promise is one to perform in the future, it has not yet been broken, and defendant may still 16 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting retract the repudiation). E.g., Wisconsin Power & Light Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., 130 F. 3d 787, 792–793 (CA7 1997) (plaintiff could sue insurer that disclaimedliability for all costs that would be incurred in the future if environmental agencies required cleanup); Combs v. International Ins. Co., 354 F. 3d 568, 598–601 (CA6 2004) (similar).Would federal courts deny standing to a plaintiff whoseeks to enjoin as a nuisance the building of a nearby pond which, the plaintiff believes, will very likely, but not inevitably, overflow his land? See 42 Am. Jur. 2d Injunctions §§2, 5 (2010) (noting that an injunction is ordinarily preventive in character and restrains actions that have not yet been taken, but threaten injury). E.g., Central Delta Water Agency v. United States, 306 F. 3d 938, 947–950 (CA9 2002) (standing to seek injunction where method of operating dam was highly likely to severely hamper plaintiffs’ ability to grow crops); Consolidated Companies, Inc. v. Union Pacific R. Co., 499 F. 3d 382, 386 (CA5 2007) (standing to seek injunction requiring cleanup of landadjacent to plaintiff ’s tract because of threat that contaminants might migrate to plaintiff ’s tract).Neither do ordinary declaratory judgment actions always involve the degree of certainty upon which the Court insists here. See, e.g., Maryland Casualty Co. v. Pacific Coal & Oil Co., 312 U. S. 270, 273 (1941) (insurance company could seek declaration that it need not pay claimagainst insured automobile driver who was in an accident even though the driver had not yet been found liable for the accident); Aetna Life Ins. Co. v. Haworth, 300 U. S. 227, 239–244 (1937) (insurance company could seek declaration that it need not pay plaintiff for disability although plaintiff had not yet sought disability payments). See also, e.g., Associated Indemnity Corp. v. Fairchild Industries, Inc., 961 F. 2d 32, 35–36 (CA2 1992) (insured could seek declaration that insurance company must pay liabil17 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) BREYER, J., dissenting ity even before insured found liable). 2 In some standing cases, the Court has found that areasonable probability of future injury comes accompanied with present injury that takes the form of reasonable efforts to mitigate the threatened effects of the future injury or to prevent it from occurring. Thus, in Monsanto Co., 561 U. S., at ___ (slip op., at 11–14) plaintiffs, a group of conventional alfalfa growers, challenged an agency decision to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa. Theyclaimed that deregulation would harm them because their neighbors would plant the genetically engineered seed,bees would obtain pollen from the neighbors’ plants, and the bees would then (harmfully) contaminate their ownconventional alfalfa with the genetically modified gene.The lower courts had found a “reasonable probability” thatthis injury would occur. Ibid. (internal quotation marks omitted).Without expressing views about that probability, wefound standing because the plaintiffs would suffer present harm by trying to combat the threat. Ibid. The plaintiffs,for example, “would have to conduct testing to find outwhether and to what extent their crops have been contaminated.” Id., at ___ (slip op., at 12). And they would haveto take “measures to minimize the likelihood of potential contamination and to ensure an adequate supply of non-genetically-engineered alfalfa.” Ibid. We held that these “harms, which [the plaintiffs] will suffer even if their crops are not actually infected with” the genetically modifiedgene, “are sufficiently concrete to satisfy the injury-in-factprong of the constitutional standing analysis.” Id., at ___ (slip op., at 13).Virtually identical circumstances are present here.Plaintiff McKay, for example, points out that, when hecommunicates abroad about, or in the interests of, a client 18 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting (e.g., a client accused of terrorism), he must “make anassessment” whether his “client’s interests would be compromised” should the Government “acquire the communications.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 375a. If so, he must either forgo the communication or travel abroad. Id., at 371a– 372a (“I have had to take measures to protect the confidentiality of information that I believe is particularly sensitive,” including “travel that is both time-consumingand expensive”).Since travel is expensive, since forgoing communication can compromise the client’s interests, since McKay’s assessment itself takes time and effort, this case does not differ significantly from Monsanto. And that is so whether we consider the plaintiffs’ present necessary expenditureof time and effort as a separate concrete, particularized,imminent harm, or consider it as additional evidence that the future harm (an interception) is likely to occur. See also Friends of the Earth, Inc., 528 U. S., at 183–184 (holding that plaintiffs who curtailed their recreational activities on a river due to reasonable concerns about the effect of pollutant discharges into that river had standing); Meese v. Keene, 481 U. S. 465, 475 (1987) (stating that “the need to take . . . affirmative steps to avoid the risk of harm . . . constitutes a cognizable injury”). 3 The majority cannot find support in cases that use thewords “certainly impending” to deny standing. While I do not claim to have read every standing case, I have examined quite a few, and not yet found any such case. The majority refers to Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U. S. 149 (1990). But in that case the Court denied standing to aprisoner who challenged the validity of a death sentencegiven to a different prisoner who refused to challenge his own sentence. The plaintiff feared that in the absence of an appeal, his fellow prisoner’s death sentence would be 19 Cite as: 568 U. S. ____ (2013) BREYER, J., dissenting missing from the State’s death penalty database andthereby skew the database against him, making it less likely his challenges to his own death penalty would succeed. The Court found no standing. Id., at 161. But the fellow prisoner’s lack of appeal would have harmed theplaintiff only if (1) the plaintiff separately obtained federalhabeas relief and was then reconvicted and resentenced to death, (2) he sought review of his new sentence, and (3) during that review, his death sentence was affirmed onlybecause it was compared to an artificially skewed database. Id., at 156–157. These events seemed not very likely to occur.In DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U. S. 332 (2006),taxpayers challenged the constitutionality of a tax break offered by state and local governments to a car manufacturer. We found no standing. But the plaintiffs would have suffered resulting injury only if that the tax breakhad depleted state and local treasuries and the legislature had responded by raising their taxes. Id., at 344. In Lujan, the case that may come closest to supportingthe majority, the Court also found no standing. But, as I pointed out, supra, at 11, Lujan is a case where the Court considered when, not whether, the threatened harm would occur. 504 U. S., at 564, n. 2. The relevant injury thereconsisted of a visit by environmental group’s members to aproject site where they would find (unlawful) environmental depredation. Id., at 564. The Court pointed out thatmembers had alleged that they would visit the project sites “soon.” But it wrote that “soon” might refer to almost any time in the future. Ibid., n. 2. By way of contrast, the ongoing threat of terrorism means that here the relevant interceptions will likely take place imminently, if not now. The Court has, of course, denied standing in other cases. But they involve injuries less likely, not more likely, tooccur than here. In a recent case, Summers v. Earth Island Institute, 555 U. S. 488 (2009), for example, the 20 CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA BREYER, J., dissenting plaintiffs challenged a regulation exempting certain timber sales from public comment and administrative appeal.The plaintiffs claimed that the regulations injured themby interfering with their esthetic enjoyment and recreational use of the forests. The Court found this harm too unlikely to occur to support standing. Id., at 496. The Court noted that one plaintiff had not pointed to a specific affected forest that he would visit. The Court concluded that “[t]here may be a chance, but . . . hardly a likelihood,” that the plaintiff ’s “wanderings will bring him to a parcelabout to be affected by a project unlawfully subject to theregulations.” Id., at 495 (emphasis added). 4 In sum, as the Court concedes, see ante, at 15–16, and n. 5, the word “certainly” in the phrase “certainly impending” does not refer to absolute certainty. As our case law demonstrates, what the Constitution requires is something more akin to “reasonable probability” or “high probability.” The use of some such standard is all that is necessary here to ensure the actual concrete injury thatthe Constitution demands. The considerations set forth in Parts II and III, supra, make clear that the standard is readily met in this case. * * * While I express no view on the merits of the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, I do believe that at least some of the plaintiffs have standing to make those claims. I dissent, with respect, from the majority’s contrary conclusion.
Published In: Administrative Law Updates, Civil Rights Updates, Constitutional Law Updates, Privacy Updates, Science, Computers & Technology Updates
Decision | Federal, U.S. Supreme Court | United States
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