Page:Reed v. Goertz.pdf/15

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Cite as: 598 U. S. ____ (2023)
7

Thomas, J., dissenting

(1992). Under that doctrine, any party requesting relief from a federal court must assert “an injury” that is “concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent,” and he must show that his injury is both “fairly traceable to the challenged action” and “redressable by a favorable ruling.” Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U. S. 139, 149 (2010); see also Town of Chester v. Laroe Estates, Inc., 581 U. S. 433, 438–439 (2017). Absent that showing, the court has no jurisdiction and thus no “power to adjudicate the case.” Steel Co. v. Citizens for Better Environment, 523 U. S. 83, 89 (1998) (emphasis deleted).

Jurisdiction, moreover, comes in two types—original and appellate—and the application of the Article III standing elements is interwoven with that constitutionally grounded distinction. See Art. III, §2, cl. 2. In an original case or controversy, the plaintiff traces his injury “to the defendant’s allegedly unlawful conduct,” Allen v. Wright, 468 U. S. 737, 751 (1984), and, correspondingly, seeks a remedy that runs against the defendant and determines that defendant’s duties or liabilities (e.g., a judgment for money damages or an injunction). On the other hand, “[t]he criterion which distinguishes appellate from original jurisdiction, is that it revises and corrects the decisions of another tribunal.” Ex parte Bollman, 4 Cranch 75, 86 (1807); see also Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137, 175–176 (1803). As such, a case or controversy is appellate in nature when the relief-seeking party’s injury is traceable to the allegedly erroneous action of another court and requires a remedy correcting that judicial action (e.g., reversal or vacatur of the challenged judgment).[1] See, e.g., Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader


  1. The limited exceptions to these generalizations only prove the rules. Appellate courts sometimes issue remedies that operate directly on the parties (e.g., injunctions pending appeal), but such remedies are “extraordinary” and appropriate only when “ ‘in aid of ’ ” the court’s primary appellate jurisdiction. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. Federal Election