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52 Emory L.J. 771 (2003)
Taxpayers in Court: A Systematic Study of a (Misunderstood) Standing Doctrine

handle is hein.journals/emlj52 and id is 783 raw text is: TAXPAYERS IN COURT: A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF A (MISUNDERSTOOD) STANDING DOCTRINE Nancy C. Staudt* INTRODUCTION When urban planners in Northern California first proposed a bridge to link Matin County and the City of San Francisco, taxpayers objected arguing the project was a colossal waste of public money.' They apparently believed boats were a sufficient means of transportation to cross the bay. The taxpayers failed in their efforts to block the construction of this bridge-the Golden Gate Bridge-and in hindsight this was a good decision by the federal district court judge The case, however, is an example of what taxpayers, since at least 1865, have sought in federal court: injunctions to halt government spending out of fear of the tax consequences that would follow or because of ideological objections to the spending project at issue. The earliest taxpayer challenges, in the late nineteenth century, were to spending projects that most citizens today support-subsidies for road construction,3 utilities,4 and national parks.5 From that time forward, taxpayers have invoked their right to sue in federal court as a means to challenge a . Professor of Law, Washington University. I owe thanks to Susan Appleton, Lee Epstein, Pauline Kim, Ron Levin, the participants in the Washington University Workshop on Empirical Research in the Law (WERL), the Washington University Law School faculty workshop, and the 2002 Critical Tax Theory Workshop at Tulane University Law School. 1 Garland Co. v. Filmer, 1 F. Supp. 8 (N.D. Cal. 1932) (arguing that the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway district south to impose a tax in violation of the Due Process Clause and issue $35,000,000 in municipal bonds would violate the Contracts Clause). 2 id. at 13-16. 3 See, e.g., Mitchell v. Stephens, 285 F. 756 (S.D. Cal. 1922) (challenging state sale of municipal bonds for the construction of state highway as violation of federal statutory law). 4 See. e.g., Mo. Public Service Co. v. City of Concordia, 8 F. Supp. I (W.D. Mo. 1934) (discussing private electricity provider's challenge to city operated utility as violation of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause); Kiefer v. City of Idaho Falls, 19 F.2d 538, 540 (D. Idaho 1927) (challenging city contracts with water supply company as contrary to certain provisions of the Constitution); Vonherberg v. City of Seattle, 20 F.2d 247, 247-48 (W.D. Wash. 1927) (challenging illegal loans made to Puget Sound Power & Light Company). 5 See, e.g., United States v. .8677 Acre of Land in Richmond County, 42 F. Supp. 91, 91-93 (E.D.S.C. 1941) (taking of private and city owned property for purposes of constructing a recreational center).

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