Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Justiciability is about what kinds of cases a court can hear. If a case is "nonjusticiable," then the court cannot hear it. To be justiciable, the court must be deciding a real problem, the person bringing the case must have a good reason to do so, and the issue must be ready to be decided. The court will not hear a case if it is just giving advice, if the person bringing the case has not been harmed, if the issue is not ready to be decided, or if the issue is too political.
Overview: Justiciability refers to the types of cases that a court can hear and decide. If a case is "nonjusticiable," then the court cannot hear it. To be justiciable, the court must not be offering an advisory opinion, the plaintiff must have standing, and the issues must be ripe but neither moot nor violative of the political question doctrine. These issues are all up to the discretion of the court that is deciding the case.
Advisory Opinion: An advisory opinion is a court's nonbinding interpretation of a legal question. Federal courts can only decide actual controversies, as required by the Case and Controversy Clause of the Constitution. Some state courts can issue advisory opinions under limited circumstances, but these circumstances are usually specified in the state's constitution.
Standing: Standing refers to the ability of a plaintiff to bring a lawsuit in court. The plaintiff must have suffered an actual harm caused by the defendant, and the harm must be redressable. For example, if someone sues a company for selling a defective product that caused them harm, they have standing to bring the lawsuit.
Ripeness: A claim is ripe when the facts of the case have matured into an actual controversy. A case is not ripe if the harm to the plaintiff has not yet occurred. For example, if someone sues a company for a potential harm that may happen in the future, the case is not ripe because the harm has not yet occurred.
Mootness: A claim is moot if the relevant issues have already been resolved. For example, if someone sues a company for a harm that has already been fixed, the case is moot because there is no longer a controversy to decide.
Political Question Doctrine: Under the political question doctrine, a court will refuse to hear a case if the relevant issues are politically charged. For example, if someone sues the government over a political decision, the court may refuse to hear the case because it is a political question that should be decided by the elected officials, not the courts.
Example: John sues a company for selling him a defective product that caused him harm. John has standing to bring the lawsuit because he suffered an actual harm caused by the company. The case is ripe because the harm has already occurred, and it is not moot because the harm has not been resolved. The court can hear this case because it is justiciable.