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Constitutional Law — Establishment Clause — taxpayer standing

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 4, 2012//

Constitutional Law — Establishment Clause — taxpayer standing

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 4, 2012//

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Constitutional Law — Establishment Clause — taxpayer standing

A taxpayer lacks standing to challenge an appropriation made an administrative agency rather than a state legislature.

“The district court correctly assessed Sherman’s right to sue. Whatever may be lurking in the background of this appropriations legislation, the $20,000 grant to Friends was not the result of legislative action; rather, it can be traced at most to the initiative of a single legislator. The ultimate pool of $5 million was in the hands of an executive agency, which was formally responsible for the decision to hand out the $20,000 to Friends. Taxpayer standing under these circumstances is foreclosed by Hein v. Freedom from Religious Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587 (2007). We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.”

Affirmed.

11-1566 Sherman v. State of Illinois

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, McCuskey, J., Wood, J.

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