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CLAPPER v. AMNESTY INTERN. USA

Supreme Court of United States (2013) | 133 S.Ct. 1138; 185 L.Ed.2d 264

3 min read

TL;DR: Plaintiffs challenged a government surveillance law, claiming it would intercept their communications. The Supreme Court dismissed the case, holding the plaintiffs' fear of future harm was too speculative to establish the "injury-in-fact" required for Article III standing in federal court.

Legal Significance: The case significantly heightened the Article III standing requirement for pre-enforcement challenges, demanding that a threatened injury be "certainly impending," not merely an "objectively reasonable likelihood," and rejecting standing based on self-incurred costs to mitigate a non-imminent threat.