Source: http://openjurist.org/print/29808
Timestamp: 2015-09-01 20:53:13
Document Index: 670852848

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 602', 'Art. 602', 'Art. 602', '§ 2281', 'Art. 602', 'Art. 602']

410 US 614 Linda R S v. Richard D and Texas
Home > 410 US 614 Linda R S v. Richard D and Texas
410 US 614 Linda R S v. Richard D and Texas 410 U.S. 614
93 S.Ct. 1146
35 L.Ed.2d 536
Linda R.S., Appellant,v.Richard D. and Texas et al.
Appellant, the mother of an illegitimate child, brought a class action to enjoin the 'discriminatory application' of Art. 602 of the Vernon's Ann. Texas Penal Code providing that any 'parent' who fails to support his 'children' is subject to prosecution, but which by state judicial construction applies only to married parents. Appellant sought to enjoin the local district attorney from refraining to prosecute the father of her child. The three-judge District Court dismissed appellant's action for want of standing: Held: Although appellant has an interest in her child's support, application of Art. 602 would not result in support but only in the father's incarceration, and a private citizen lacks a judicially cognizable interest in the prosecution or nonprosecution of another. Pp. 616—619.
Appellant, the mother of an illegitimate child, brought this action in United States District Court on behalf of herself, her child, and others similarly situated to enjoin the 'discriminatory application' of Art. 602 of the Vernon's Ann. Texas Penal Code. A three-judge court was convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2281, but that court dismissed the action for want of standing.1 335 F.Supp. 804 (N.D.Tex.1971). We postponed consideration of jurisdiction until argument on the merits, 405 U.S. 1064, 92 S.Ct. 1520, 31 L.Ed.2d 793, and now affirm the judgment below.
Article 602, in relevant part, provides: 'any parent who shall wilfully desert, neglect or refuse to provide for the support and maintenance of his or her child or children under eighteen years of age, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished by confinement in the County Jail for not more than two years.' The Texas courts have consistently construed this statute to apply solely to the parents of legitimate children and to impose no duty of support on the parents of illegitimate children. See Home of Holy Infancy v. Kaska, 397 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex.1966); Beaver v. State, 96 Tex.Cr.R. 179, 256 S.W. 929 (1923). In her complaint, appellant alleges that one Richard D. is the father of her child, that Richard D. has refused to provide support for the child, and that although appellant made application to the local district attorney for enforcement of Art. 602 against Richard D., the district attorney refused to take action for the express reason that, in his view, the fathers of illegitimate children were not within the scope of Art. 602.2
Recent decisions by this Court have greatly expanded the types of 'personal stake(s)' which are capable of conferring standing on a potential plaintiff. Compare Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. TVA, 306 U.S. 118, 59 S.Ct. 366, 83 L.Ed. 543 (1939), and Alabama Power Co. v. Ickes, 302 U.S. 464, 58 S.Ct. 300, 82 L.Ed. 374 (1938), with Barlow v. Collins, 397 U.S. 159, 90 S.Ct. 832, 25 L.Ed.2d 192 (1970), and Association of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc. v. Camp, 397 U.S. 150, 90 S.Ct. 827, 25 L.Ed.2d 184 (1970). But as we pointed o