Legal Standing, contradiction in application??

[PedalBiker]

How can it be that if I comply with a law I have no legal standing to challenge it, no matter how adversely it impacts me?

I am wondering if we need to find a way to gain access to the courts.

If my local town bans 6.5 shot revolvers then I can't buy one, so I am impacted, yet I supposedly have no standing to sue. If my town bans spring compressors then I can't repair my McPhearson struts, same deal, I have no standing to sue. Why is this?

If I am under this jurisdiction, and I am adversely impacted I should, by any reasonable interpretation of reality, have standing to challenge the law in the courts. Where did we go so wrong? What portion of the constitution bars me from access to the courts to overturn oppressive legislation (or case law)??

 

[dogtown tom]

PedalBiker How can it be that if I comply with a law I have no legal standing to challenge it, no matter how adversely it impacts me?

I am wondering if we need to find a way to gain access to the courts.

If my local town bans 6.5 shot revolvers then I can't buy one, so I am impacted, yet I supposedly have no standing to sue. If my town bans spring compressors then I can't repair my McPhearson struts, same deal, I have no standing to sue. Why is this?

If I am under this jurisdiction, and I am adversely impacted I should, by any reasonable interpretation of reality, have standing to challenge the law in the courts. Where did we go so wrong? What portion of the constitution bars me from access to the courts to overturn oppressive legislation (or case law)??

First, what is a 6.5 shot revolver?

If you want standing, get arrested for having a 6.5 shot revolver.

Problem solved.

 

[Sam1911]

This is probably a discussion that gets too far outside our strict scope here, but the way citizens challenge laws through the courts is to violate that law, be prosecuted for that violation, and (if convicted) appeal to a court with the authority to review the law and decide if that law violates a higher legal authority such as your state Constitution, federal law, or the US Constitution.

Bringing a Constitutional challenge of a law to the US Supreme Court usually takes about 10 years, and quite a bit of money, but that's the procedure.

I'm not sure what you mean by "go so wrong?" The courts and the government are not subject to the whims of every citizen demanding to take the court's time to hear challenges of every law someone doesn't like. There must be a pretty clear Constitutional conflict involved and there must be actual harm and legal jeopardy involved. If you could just walk down to the courthouse and fill out a form to challenge a law, the courts would be immediately buried under an impenetrable pile of redundant, repetitive, and largely frivolous lawsuits.

 

[Frank Ettin]

This is probably a discussion that gets too far outside our strict scope here,...

And that is exactly right. For that reason, I'm closing this with the following more detailed explanation.

How can it be that if I comply with a law I have no legal standing to challenge it, no matter how adversely it impacts me?

I am wondering if we need to find a way to gain access to the courts....

Standing to sue and the rules governing standing are a pretty complex topic. The fundamental issue is that courts in general deal only with "cases and controversies." There must be a real dispute about something. Court don't deal with theoretical or academic questions.

Depending on what your goal is and what law concerns you, there may, or may not, be good ways to manage things to get standing and bring a suit. But the only way to really know is to discuss the details with a good lawyer. Whether and how you can do something will depend on the exact situation.

..If I am under this jurisdiction, and I am adversely impacted I should, by any reasonable interpretation of reality, have standing to challenge the law in the courts....

Why? For one thing "adversely impacted" can cover a lot of ground.

...What portion of the constitution bars me from access to the courts to overturn oppressive legislation (or case law)??...

The Constitution has nothing to do with it. The core concepts of standing predate the Constitution and have their roots in the Common Law of England.