Citizen Suits, Separation of Powers, and the Future of the Supreme Court's Standing Jurisprudence

Internal tensions in the Supreme Court's standing doctrine have led to some unexpected fractures. Last term, in Transunion LLC v. Ramirez, the Court considered a class action arising from Transunion's errors in the processing and use of the plaintiffs' personal credit information. By a vote of 5-4, the Court held that, while Congress had created a cause of action that on its face let all of the class members sue, only those whose information was shared with third parties had sufficiently concrete injuries to establish standing. Justice Thomas joined the court's three more liberal justices in dissent, arguing that Congress's creation of a cause of action was sufficient and pointing out numerous inconsistencies in the Court's standing doctrine. Of particular note, Justice Thomas cited a provocative concurring opinion from the 11th Circuit's Judge Newsom, who argued that standing has no basis in the original meaning of Constitution and that courts should instead look at whether a congressionally created cause of action violates the Constitution's separation of powers. Judge Newsom's opinion, and both the majority and the dissent in Transunion, spent considerable time discussing how courts should approach citizen suits, which have always been on the outer edge of the Court's standing jurisprudence and which several justices have said raise other serious separation of powers concerns. This webinar will have a lively discussion among three leading experts about what the future may hold for citizen suits, standing doctrine, and the separation of powersFeaturing:--Prof. Richard A. Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law--Prof. Robin Craig, Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law, USC Gould School of Law--Jonathan Brightbill, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP and former Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment & Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice--Moderator: Michael Buschbacher, Counsel, Boyden Gray & Associates PLLC