Opinion ID: 474537
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Olagues

Text: 29 In the circumstances of this case, Olagues would have standing to seek equitable relief under the Voting Rights Act if he has suffered an injury that has more than a generalized grievance. 7 See Allen v. State Board of Elections, 393 U.S. 544, 554-57, 89 S.Ct. 817, 825-27, 22 L.Ed.2d 1 (1969). He has alleged an injury. His request for a bilingual ballot triggered an investigation of his INS records by the FBI and INS and an interview by the local District Attorney. Therefore, he was stigmatized as a person who might have registered to vote illegally. This, at a time when he was running for political office himself. 30 The Government contends that Olagues's alleged injuries are insufficient to warrant injunctive relief. The Government categorizes the chilling effect injury as subjective and thus not justiciable under Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 92 S.Ct. 2318, 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972). 31 In Laird, plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against the Army's domestic surveillance system. Id. 408 U.S. at 2-8, 92 S.Ct. at 2320-23. The plaintiffs, however, were not targets of the surveillance, thus any chilling effect resulted merely from their knowledge of the surveillance activities. In this case, Olagues was in fact a target of Russoniello's investigation. Thus, the chilling effect stems from more than mere knowledge of a general investigation. Moreover, the Court in Laird recognizes that a plaintiff has standing when the government improperly imposes an affirmative obligation on him. Id. at 12, 92 S.Ct. at 2325. In this case, because he requested a bilingual ballot, the Government required Olagues to prove his citizenship, an affirmative obligation the Government did not place on people who request English language ballots. Therefore, we hold that Olagues has standing to sue for equitable relief.