What's Left Standing? FECA Citizen Suits and the Battle for Judicial Review

Abstract

This Article discusses standing to sue the FEC with two principal objectives. First, it attempts to frame the doctrinal inconsistencies between Lujan and Akins that have given rise to ongoing FECA standing litigation and concludes that the Supreme Court should acknowledge its repudiation of Lujan in cases seeking election-related information. Second, it explores the question whether courts may be statutorily required to consider citizen challenges to FEC enforcement actions as a matter of justiciability theory in the first instance, and concludes that courts should turn to the oft-overlooked Akins decision in lieu of Lujan in reviewing suits brought under citizen-suit statutes generally.

Keywords: Article III, Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, FECA, Federal Election Commission Act, standing, federal courts, Lujan v. Akins,

JEL Classification: K13, K39, K41