Opinion ID: 1743723
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Standing as Inmates

Text: Lara maintains that even if she does not have standing as a taxpayer, she has standing as a former TCCC inmate. Huff similarly alleges that as a former inmate, he has suffered an injury sufficiently particular to confer standing. They argue that they were emotionally harmed by the County's unwelcome unconstitutional establishment of religion. The court of appeals agreed that Lara and Huff have standing. It concluded that although they have been released from the TCCC, because Lara and Huff may again find themselves incarcerated in the jail, their claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are not moot. 986 S.W.2d at 316. Tarrant County disagrees. It emphasizes that because Lara and Huff are no longer TCCC inmates, they are not currently subject to the allegedly unconstitutional activity they seek to enjoin, and thus their claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are moot. The County contends that the court of appeals erred in concluding that because Lara and Huff may again find themselves incarcerated in the TCCC, they satisfy the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine. For a plaintiff to have standing, a controversy must exist between the parties at every stage of the legal proceedings, including the appeal. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36, 39, 71 S.Ct. 104, 95 L.Ed. 36 (1950). If a controversy ceases to existthe issues presented are no longer `live' or the parties lack a legally cognizable interest in the outcomethe case becomes moot. Murphy v. Hunt, 455 U.S. 478, 481, 102 S.Ct. 1181, 71 L.Ed.2d 353 (1982); see also O'Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 495-96, 94 S.Ct. 669, 38 L.Ed.2d 674 (1974) (Past exposure to illegal conduct does not in itself show a present case or controversy regarding injunctive relief ... if unaccompanied by any continuing, present adverse effects.). If a case becomes moot, the parties lose standing to maintain their claims. See generally City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 105-06, 103 S.Ct. 1660, 75 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983); Murphy, 455 U.S. at 481, 102 S.Ct. 1181. Because Lara and Huff have been released from jail, they lack a legally cognizable interest in obtaining injunctive or declaratory relief. They no longer face the unconstitutional conduct about which they complain, and thus any prospective relief we might grant cannot help them. Lara's and Huff's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are therefore moot. Lara and Huff contend that even if their claims are moot, they fall under the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine. We disagree. This exception applies only in rare circumstances. See Lyons, 461 U.S. at 109, 103 S.Ct. 1660. To invoke the exception, a plaintiff must prove that: (1) the challenged action was too short in duration to be litigated fully before the action ceased or expired; and (2) a reasonable expectation exists that the same complaining party will be subjected to the same action again. See Murphy, 455 U.S. at 482, 102 S.Ct. 1181; Weinstein v. Bradford, 423 U.S. 147, 149, 96 S.Ct. 347, 46 L.Ed.2d 350 (1975); Blum v. Lanier, 997 S.W.2d 259, 264 (Tex.1999); General Land Office v. OXY U.S.A., Inc., 789 S.W.2d 569, 571 (Tex.1990). The TCCC is a county jail facility where inmates serve sentences or await trial, transfer, or release. The duration of any inmate's stay, however, may be so short that it would be unlikely that any inmate would reside in the TCCC during the entirety of a legal proceeding challenging the existence of the CEU. Therefore, Lara's and Huff's claims meet the evading-review element of the mootness-exception test. See Cox v. McCarthy, 829 F.2d 800, 803 (9th Cir.1987); Clark v. Brewer, 776 F.2d 226, 229 (8th Cir.1985). Lara and Huff cannot, however, meet the capable-of-repetition element. Whether and when Lara and Huff may be charged with a crime that would lead to their incarceration in the TCCC is speculative. To conclude that there is a reasonable expectation that they will again be subjected to the allegedly unconstitutional operation of the CEU requires us to assume that Lara and Huff will commit another crime. But Lara and Huff are required by law to prevent their own recidivism. See O'Shea, 414 U.S. at 497, 94 S.Ct. 669 (We assume that [the plaintiffs] will conduct their activities within the law and so avoid prosecution and conviction as well as exposure to the challenged course of conduct said to be followed by [the defendants].). Only by ignoring well-established precedent [8] can we conclude that Lara and Huff satisfy the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine. Because we are unwilling to do so, we conclude that Lara's and Huff's claims for prospective relief are moot. Thus neither this Court nor the trial court has jurisdiction to render the injunctive and declaratory relief they seek. Accordingly, the County is entitled to summary judgment on Lara's and Huff's claims for injunctive and declaratory relief because Lara and Huff do not have standing to assert those claims. But Lara's and Huff's release from the TCCC does not render moot their claims for damages under section 1983. See Lyons, 461 U.S. at 105, 103 S.Ct. 1660; Kerr v. Farrey, 95 F.3d 472, 476 (7th Cir.1996); Reimers, 863 F.2d at 632. Having concluded that each party has standing to pursue certain relief, we briefly clarify the issues we must address. As a taxpayer, Flowers has standing to seek declaratory and injunctive relief for the County's alleged violation of the Establishment Clause. Because Lara and Huff no longer reside in the TCCC, they lack standing for such relief under the Establishment, Free Exercise, and Equal Protection Clauses; those claims are moot. Lara, however, asserts claims for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Establishment Clause, and Huff asserts claims for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of his free-exercise rights; those claims are not moot. But while we must consider Flowers' and Lara's Establishment Clause claims and Huff's free-exercise claim, because no party with standing to do so seeks monetary relief for violations of the Equal Protection Clause, we cannot address the merits of the parties' equal-protection complaint. Rather, absent proof that any party has standing to pursue an equal-protection challenge, we must dismiss those claims for want of jurisdiction. See Douglas v. Delp, 987 S.W.2d 879, 882 (Tex.1999); Texas Ass'n of Bus. v. Texas Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 443-45 (Tex.1993). We begin by examining Flowers' and Lara's Establishment Clause challenge.