Opinion ID: 4310660
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standing jurisprudence

Text: Article III of our Constitution vests “[t]he judicial power of the United States” in both the Supreme Court and “such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” U.S. Const. art. III., § 1. While Article III does not outline the exact contours of this “judicial power,” the Constitution “does specify that this power extends only to ‘Cases’ and ‘Controversies.’” Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 1547 (2016) (quoting U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2). In order to avoid violating this “Cases and Controversies” limitation, a party seeking to invoke the federal judicial power must first establish that they have “standing” to do so. Id. 8 This 7 “We exercise plenary review over a dismissal for lack of standing.” Cottrell v. Alcon Laboratories, 874 F.3d 154, 161 (3d Cir. 2017) 8 Although Article III does not explicitly refer to “standing,” the judicial doctrine derives from the principle of separation-of-powers. See, e.g., Clapper v. Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 408 (2013) (“The law of Article III standing, which is built on separation-of-powers principles, serves to prevent the judicial process from 11 standing requirement “limits the category of litigants empowered to maintain a lawsuit in federal court to seek redress for a legal wrong,” and “ensure[s] that federal courts do not exceed their authority as it has been traditionally understood.” Id. To establish standing, a plaintiff must have “(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the being used to usurp the powers of the political branches.”); John G. Roberts, Jr., Article III Limits on Statutory Standing, 42 DUKE L.J. 1219, 1226 (1993) (“If Congress directs the federal courts to hear a case in which the requirements of Article III are not met, that Act of Congress is unconstitutional. . . . [T]he conclusion that Article III limits congressional power can hardly be regarded as remarkable.”); Antonin Scalia, The Doctrine of Standing as an Essential Element of the Separation of Powers, 17 SUFFOLK U. L. REV. 881, 881 (1983) (“My thesis is that the judicial doctrine of standing is a crucial and inseparable element of th[e] principle [of separationof-powers], whose disregard will inevitably produce—as it has during the past few decades—an overjudicialization of the processes of self-governance.”). While Estrada presents theories of harm that rest upon California law rather than a statute enacted by Congress, the constitutional limitations imposed on our jurisdiction remain the same. Federal courts are not at liberty to opine on state law absent Article III jurisdiction. 12 challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Id. This appeal focuses on the “‘[f]irst and foremost’ of standing’s three elements,” injury in fact. Id. (quoting Steel Co. v. Citizens for Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 103 (1998)). Satisfying the injury in fact element requires the party seeking to invoke federal jurisdiction to establish three sub-elements. Mielo v. Steak ’n Shake, 897 F.3d 467, ___ n.11 (3d Cir. 2018). First, the party must “show that he or she suffered ‘an invasion of a legally protected interest.’” Spokeo, 136 S. Ct. at 1548 (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992)). Second, the party must show that the injury is both “concrete and particularized.” Id. Finally, the party must show that his or her injury is “actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” Id. Because Estrada is the party seeking to invoke federal jurisdiction, “[t]he burden to establish standing” rests with her. Finkelman, 810 F.3d at 194. Indeed, she specifically “bears the burden of showing that [s]he has standing for each type of relief sought.” Summers v. Earth Island Inst., 555 U.S. 488, 493 (2009) (emphasis added). Because Estrada seeks relief in the form of (1) monetary damages, (2) restitution, and (3) injunctive relief, JA 79, our standing inquiry will consider, in turn, whether Estrada has established standing to seek these three categories of relief. 13