Title: Laidlaw: Redressing the Law of Redressability
Abstract: Although much of standing doctrine protects decisionmaking by Congress and the executive branch, the Supreme Court ironically has more recently used standing doctrine to enhance its own power at the expense of Congress. In cases such as Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife and Raines v. Byrd, the Court invalidated congressional grants of standing. The Court has transmuted standing from a means of protecting the majoritarian process into a judicial weapon that can override congressional judgments about the optimal enforcement of particular laws. Lujan contemplates that courts must independently assess each congressionally created injury to assure that the injury is individuated enough to satisfy the case or controversy requirement.