United States v. Hays, 515 U.S. 737, 7 (1995)

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Cite as: 515 U. S. 737 (1995)

Opinion of the Court

the plaintiff must have suffered an 'injury in fact'—an invasion of a legally protected interest that is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical. Second, there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of . . . . Third, it must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U. S. 555, 560-561 (1992) (footnote, citations, and internal quotation marks omitted); see also, e. g., Allen v. Wright, 468 U. S. 737, 751 (1984); Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U. S. 464, 472 (1982). In light of these principles, we have repeatedly refused to recognize a generalized grievance against allegedly illegal governmental conduct as sufficient for standing to invoke the federal judicial power. See, e. g., Valley Forge Christian College, supra; Schlesinger v. Reservists Comm. to Stop the War, 418 U. S. 208 (1974); United States v. Richardson, 418 U. S. 166 (1974); Ex parte Lévitt, 302 U. S. 633 (1937) (per curiam). We have also made clear that "it is the burden of the 'party who seeks the exercise of jurisdiction in his favor,' McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 298 U. S. 178, 189 (1936), 'clearly to allege facts demonstrating that he is a proper party to invoke judicial resolution of the dispute.' Warth v. Seldin, 422 U. S. 490, 518 (1975)." FW/PBS, supra, at 231. And when a case has proceeded to final judgment after a trial, as this case has, "those facts (if controverted) must be 'supported adequately by the evidence adduced at trial' " to avoid dismissal on standing grounds. Lujan, supra, at 561 (quoting Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, 441 U. S. 91, 115, n. 31 (1979)).

The rule against generalized grievances applies with as much force in the equal protection context as in any other. Allen v. Wright made clear that even if a governmental actor is discriminating on the basis of race, the resulting injury "accords a basis for standing only to 'those persons who are

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