Monday, April 5, 2010
Can Taxpayers Sue Just Because They’re Taxpayers?
In this blogpost on ACLU’s blog, ACLU reviews a case it is currently pursuing. The ACLU is suing on behalf of the members of ACLU of Massachusetts because said members object that their tax dollars are being funneled by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The USCCB uses this money to help victims of human trafficking; however, it does not allow anyone who comes to it for help to seek contraceptive or abortion services. That is, the USCCB refuses to let federal funds go to contraceptive or abortion services because of its religious beliefs. Hence, the ACLU sued.
I told you all that to tell you this: the government asked that the case be dismissed based upon a US Supreme Court decision in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation. In that case, “which barred taxpayers from challenging the funding of regional conferences hosted by the Bush administration to promote its so-called ‘Faith-Based Initiative.’” This decision has since been used to argue that taxpayers do not have standing to sue the government over the use of tax dollars. Crisis narrowly averted in this case, though, for the federal court in Massachusetts did not dismiss the case.
However, this does bring up an interesting question. In many of the court cases we’ve read in class, such as Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing, the Court has said in its decisions that taxpayers have an interest in how that money is being used. A non-Catholic, for example, shouldn’t have to pay for a Catholic school. To argue otherwise could make challenges based on Establishment Clause almost impossible. However, would a challenge against school prayer have worked in Engel v. Vitale if Engel wasn’t a student? Could a citizen who did not have a child in school have challenged school prayer? In theory, certainly, in practice… And, if the Freed From Religion Foundation couldn’t challenge the funding of conferences to promote “Faith-Based Intiatives” as taxpayers, who can? Could a citizen challenge faith-based initiatives because of the use of taxpayer money? Is the right of a citizen to sue over spending tax money as absolute as Judge Richard Stearns suggests? And does it need to be so absolute?
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