All Rise? Article III Standing Continues To Face Strict Scrutiny

In 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion addressing Article III standing under the U.S. Constitution. See Spokeo v. Robins, ––– U.S. ––––, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016). The "standing to sue doctrine," as it is commonly called, is derived from Article III of the Constitution’s limitation of the judicial power of federal courts to "actual cases or controversies." Id. "The doctrine limits the category of litigants empowered to maintain a lawsuit in federal court to seek redress for a legal wrong." Id. "[T]he 'irreducible constitutional minimum' of standing consists of three elements. The plaintiff must have (1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision." Id. Ultimately, in Spokeo, the Supreme Court held that "Article III standing requires a concrete injury even in the context of a statutory violation." Id.