Also known as: jus tertii · third-party standing · third party standing · jus tertii doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine permitting a litigant to assert the constitutional rights of third parties when those parties face practical obstacles to vindicating their own rights. The doctrine applies when the litigant has a sufficient relationship to the third parties and can be expected to frame the issues with adversarial zeal.
Harbor Crew Alliance sued the National Port Authority after it conditioned access to grievance procedures on disclosure of crew members who attended meetings about work stoppages. Sailors feared blacklisting and visa problems if their names became public. The union asserted the members' First Amendment rights because the disclosure requirement itself would deter individual suits.
A licensed pharmacist distributed contraceptives to unmarried persons and faced criminal charges under a state statute. The pharmacist raised the privacy rights of the customers who sought the products. The court permitted the claim because the customers faced practical barriers to bringing their own actions.
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Valley Forge Christian College received surplus federal property through a transfer program. Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued to block the transfer on Establishment Clause grounds. The organization lacked standing because its members suffered no concrete injury distinct from the general public.
A group of low-income residents sought to challenge a suburban zoning ordinance that restricted multifamily housing. The plaintiffs had not attempted to secure housing in the affected area. The court held they lacked standing to assert the rights of third parties who might wish to move there.
A licensed vendor of 3.2 percent beer challenged a state law that prohibited sales to males under twenty-one while allowing sales to females aged eighteen to twenty. The vendor asserted the equal protection rights of young male customers. The court permitted the claim because the vendor and customers shared a close relationship and the customers faced obstacles to suit.
A criminal defendant objected to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to exclude jurors on the basis of race. The defendant asserted the equal protection rights of the excluded venirepersons. The court allowed the claim because the defendant and excluded jurors shared a common interest in eliminating racial discrimination from jury selection.
An organization may assert third-party standing when its members would otherwise have standing, the interests are germane to the organization's purpose, and neither the claim nor the relief requires individualized participation. Courts are especially receptive when disclosure of member identities would itself chill the rights at stake.
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Article III requires injury in fact, causation, and redressability for the plaintiff. Jus tertii standing adds prudential considerations that allow a party to raise the rights of absent third parties when practical obstacles prevent those parties from suing themselves.
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Fear of retaliation supports jus tertii standing when the record shows a concrete basis for the fear, such as past discipline of critics or a rule that compels disclosure. Speculative fears without supporting evidence are insufficient.
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Yes. The doctrine has been applied in equal protection challenges involving peremptory strikes and gender-based sales restrictions, as well as in cases involving professional relationships such as doctor-patient.
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…between one who acted to protect the rights of a minority and the minority itself. Sedler, Standing to Assert Constitutional Jus Tertii in the Supreme Court, 71 Yale L. J. 599, 631 (1962). And so here the relationship between Baird and those whose rights he seeks to assert is not simply that between a distributor and…