I'm not sure whether Prof. Jamar is making a point about what standing law should be, or what it is now. But as to the latter, as best I can tell, the Court has never held that anyone has standing to challenge a law just because the law itself endorses or disapproves of a religion. And Newdow v. Levefre (9th Cir. 2010), http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=753698042392989497, seems to hold that there is no standing in such cases:
Newdow lacks standing to challenge 36 U.S.C. § 302, which merely recognizes "In God We Trust" is the national motto. Unlike §§ 5112(d)(1) and 5114(b) [which provide for the placement of the motto on currency], § 302 does not authorize or require the inscription of the motto on any object. Without §§ 5112 and 5114, the motto would not appear on coins and currency, and Newdow would lack the "unwelcome direct contact" with the motto that gives rise to his injury-in-fact. Although Newdow alleges the national motto turns Atheists into political outsiders and inflicts a stigmatic injury upon them, an "abstract stigmatic injury" resulting from such outsider status is insufficient to confer standing. Other lower court cases recognizing standing to challenge monuments, city seals, and the like have likewise all stressed the objectors' "frequent regular contact" with the offending inscriptions and symbols. Or am I missing something here? Eugene From: religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu [mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Steven Jamar Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 2:04 PM To: Law & Religion issues for Law Academics Subject: Re: TRO against Oklahoma "no use of Sharia Law" Simplest establishment standing case ever. Disfavoring one religion is an establishment violation -- that gives anyone standing. Of course the current court could change the rules and restrict standing in this area as they have in others. Since it is at least theoretically possible that someone in Oklahoma could suffer actual harm from this provision (enforcement of an internationally valid Will which is compliant with Hanafi or Shafai or Wahabi or other schools of Islamic jurisprudence, for example), the court could use this to trim establishment claim standing. On Nov 9, 2010, at 4:47 PM, Volokh, Eugene wrote: I thought I'd ask list members what they thought about this. Here's my post on the subject, in case it's of interest - I'd love to hear whether others on the list agree. http://volokh.com/2010/11/09/district-court-temporarily-enjoins-oklahoma-no-use-of-shariah-law-in-court-constitutional-amendment -- Prof. Steven D. Jamar vox: 202-806-8017 Associate Director, Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice http://iipsj.org Howard University School of Law fax: 202-806-8567 http://iipsj.com/SDJ/ "Never doubt that the work of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Meade
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