Opinion ID: 745299
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Heading: Standing to Challenge the Kansas Telephone Harassment Statute

Text: 71 As stated earlier, Article III of the Constitution requires a plaintiff to present an actual case or controversy, which, among other things, requires a plaintiff to show that they have standing. See Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. at 750, 104 S.Ct. at 3324. To meet this requirement at an irreducible constitutional minimum, a plaintiff must demonstrate that (1) he or she has suffered an injury in fact; (2) there is a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of; and (3) it is likely that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992); see also, United States v. Colorado Supreme Court, 87 F.3d 1161 (10th Cir.1996). These three elements of standing are an indispensable part of the plaintiff's case, and thus the plaintiff must support each element with the manner and degree of evidence required at the successive stages of the litigation. Lujan, at 561, 112 S.Ct. at 2136. At the summary judgment stage, a plaintiff's standing must be supported by specific evidentiary facts and not by mere allegations. Id. at 562, 112 S.Ct. at 2137. Furthermore, [i]t is a long-settled principle that standing alone cannot be 'inferred argumentatively from averments in the pleadings,' but rather 'must affirmatively appear in the record.'  FW/PBS, Inc., v. City of Dallas, 493 U.S. 215, 231, 110 S.Ct. 596, 608, 107 L.Ed.2d 603 (1990) (citations omitted). 72 We are also mindful that, because of the significance of First Amendment rights, the Supreme Court has enunciated other concerns that justify a lessening of prudential limitations on standing. Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co., 467 U.S. 947, 956, 104 S.Ct. 2839, 2847, 81 L.Ed.2d 786 (1984); ACORN v. City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, 835 F.2d 735, 738 (10th Cir.1987). Because the mere threat of prosecution under the allegedly unlawful statute may have a chilling effect on an individual's protected activity, the concern that constitutional adjudication be avoided whenever possible may be outweighed by society's interest in having the statute challenged. Munson, 467 U.S. at 956, 104 S.Ct. at 2847. Regardless of this concern, however, a plaintiff bringing a facial challenge to a statute on First Amendment grounds must still satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement in order to demonstrate standing. Id. at 958, 104 S.Ct. at 2847-48. Allegations of a subjective 'chill,' however, are not an adequate substitute for a claim of specific present objective harm or a threat of specific future harm. Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 13-14, 92 S.Ct. 2318, 2325-26, 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972). A plaintiff generally has standing only if he or she has alleged an intention to engage in a course of conduct arguably affected with a constitutional interest, but proscribed by statute, and there exists a credible threat of prosecution thereunder. Babbitt v. United Farm Workers Nat'l Union, 442 U.S. 289, 298, 99 S.Ct. 2301, 2309, 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979); accord, ACORN, 835 F.2d at 739. 73 In this case, the district court first determined that because none of the statutes had been applied against the plaintiffs, they were without standing to challenge the statutes as applied. 840 F.Supp. at 1461. Therefore, in analyzing their claims as facial challenges, the court then held that while plaintiffs had offered evidence to demonstrate that the Kansas Funeral Picketing Act was directed towards them and that their conduct was chilled because of uncertainties concerning language in that act, they had no similar basis for demonstrating standing to challenge the Kansas Telephone Harassment Statute. Specifically, the court found that: 74 The plaintiffs have not come forth with proper Rule 56 evidence demonstrating that these statutes were amended or passed in response to the plaintiffs' activities; that these statutes target the plaintiffs; ... that their First Amendment rights have been chilled by threats of prosecution under these statutes; and that [Ms. Hamilton] intends or plans to prosecute the plaintiffs under these statutes for conduct arguably protected under the Constitution. 75 Id. at 1462. 76 We agree with the district court that the plaintiffs have failed to put forth any objective evidence that they intend to engage in activities prohibited by the telefacsimile amendment to the Kansas Telephone Harassment Statute or that they face an imminent threat of prosecution under the amendment. First, the plaintiffs have not alleged any intention to violate the amendment through the transmission of telefacsimiles arguably covered under the amendment. This failure to allege an intention and to support such intention with objective evidence leaves it entirely speculative whether the plaintiffs will face any actual or imminent injury from future prosecution. See ACORN, 835 F.2d at 737-38, 739 (finding standing where plaintiffs offered evidence of the dates and plans for events in which the challenged ordinance would be violated). As the Supreme Court has observed, even  'some day' intentions--without any description of concrete plans, or indeed even any specification of when the some day will be--do not support a finding of the 'actual or imminent' injury that our cases require. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 564, 112 S.Ct. at 2138. 77 Second, the plaintiffs offer no evidence to support their allegation that they are threatened with prosecution under the amendment. Unlike ACORN, where the city had made clear its intentions to enforce the city ordinance requiring permits for demonstrations, there is no evidence that Ms. Hamilton has made any threat to prosecute the plaintiffs for violation of the telefacsimile amendment. The plaintiffs' allegation that Ms. Hamilton has threatened to prosecute them generally is not enough to confer standing. See Poe v. Ullman, 367 U.S. 497, 501, 81 S.Ct. 1752, 1754-55, 6 L.Ed.2d 989 (1961) (plurality opinion) (holding that mere allegation that state attorney intended to prosecute any offense committed under state law was insufficient to confer standing). Furthermore, although the plaintiffs allege that Ms. Hamilton's intent to prosecute can be demonstrated by past prosecutions, none of those prosecutions arose under the challenged amendment or, for that matter, any of the state laws challenged by the plaintiffs. Because the plaintiffs have failed to put forth any objective evidence in the face of Ms. Hamilton's summary judgment motion to support their standing to bring this action, we hold that the district court properly declined to exercise jurisdiction over this claim.