Three Big Things:
1. To bring a case before any court, one must first establish “standing.” Typically this means proving specific individual harm resulting from the actions of another and demonstrating that the offending party has the power to change whatever’s causing the harm.
2. Being a taxpayer is rarely sufficient to prove standing in the courts to complain about how one’s tax dollars are being used, even if that use is clearly unconstitutional.
3. When it comes to violations of the Establishment Clause, however, unwanted exposure to the offense is often sufficient to show standing in the eyes of the law because, well… Establishment isn’t like anything else.
Standing Before the Court
During the same session which determined in Board of Education v. Allen that states could provide textbooks to public and private schools alike without violating the Establishment Clause, even if many of those private school students were attending religious institutions, the Court announced in Flast v. Cohen that taxpayers had the right to oppose their tax dollars being used to do just that.
This was sort of news. It was also sort of confusing.
The case began when Florence Flast and other New York taxpayers objected to federal legislation which provided funds for the purchase of secular textbooks for use in religious private schools. They argued that CONTINUE READING: Flast v. Cohen (1968) - Part One: Stand in the Place Where You Sue (Think About Jurisdiction Wonder If You're Injured Now) | Blue Cereal Education
