Free Republic

Prior to the creation of the Doctrine of Standing, all persons had a right to pursue a private prosecution of a public right. The doctrine began its existence in the 1920’s with either Frothingham v. Mellon, 262 U.S. 447 (1923), or Fairchild v. Hughes, (1922) – depending on how you look at it. It has become a convenient way for the courts to avoid making decisions on controversial cases. Case in point, today’s [non] decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry. The majority opinion stated the following and used it in its reasoning to deny the petitioners standing: ”(2) Petitioners contend the...

News reports that California's Prop 8 has been struck down as unconstitutional are completely false. Proposition 8 is the amendment to the California Constitution that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. A federal trial judge--Vaughn Walker--held that Prop 8 violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court held that only the losing defendants in that case--the governor and attorney general of California--had standing to appeal that decision. When they refused to do so, Prop 8's official sponsors filed the appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,...