Case or controversy

Overview
The case or controversy requirement of Article III, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which constitutes “the irreducible constitutional minimum of standing,” requires that a plaintiff show:

"(1) it has suffered an ‘injury in fact’ that is (a) con- crete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) it is likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision."

The party asserting federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing these requirements at every stage of the litigation, as it does for “any other essential element of the case.”

On appeal from a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff need only show that the facts alleged, if proven, would confer standing.