Judicial Activism NOT TIED to the Supreme Court

While the public, media, and political parties like to focus on the Supreme Court of the United States because of the finality of its decisions, the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Courts of Appeals (also called the circuit courts) are the more fundamental courts in which trials are held (district) and appeals are made (circuit). Much to the surprise of some, you can’t go directly to the Supreme Court for a ruling other than under the highly restrictive circumstances that give SCOTUS original jurisdiction (which may be either exclusive or non-exclusive) that include: if certain extraordinary questions (e.g., certified questions from federal courts of appeals, extraordinary writs in exceptional circumstances, or appeals from three-judge district courts) are at issue. So, the most likely starting point in the federal system is in one of our nation’s 94 district courts, assuming you have standing.

To have standing, your case must have:

• Injury in Fact: The injury being claimed (e.g., financial loss, physical harm, or infringement of a legally protected interest) needs to be real rather than abstract or hypothetical; it must affect the plaintiff personally, not just the public at large, and it already exists or is imminent to occur.

• Causation: There must be a direct causal link between the injury and the defendant rather than the injury being the result of independent actions by third parties or unrelated events.

• Redressability: It must be likely (not merely speculative) that a favorable court decision will fix or compensate for the injury (i.e.. The damages and injunction relief sought must be capable of addressing the harm).

Without standing, you do not have a federal case.