Cite as: 528 U. S. 167 (2000)
Scalia, J., dissenting
A
In Linda R. S. v. Richard D., 410 U. S. 614 (1973), the plaintiff, mother of an illegitimate child, sought, on behalf of herself, her child, and all others similarly situated, an injunction against discriminatory application of Art. 602 of the Texas Penal Code. Although that provision made it a misdemeanor for "any parent" to refuse to support his or her minor children under 18 years of age, it was enforced only against married parents. That refusal, the plaintiff contended, deprived her and her child of the equal protection of the law by denying them the deterrent effect of the statute upon the father's failure to fulfill his support obligation. The Court held that there was no Article III standing. There was no " 'direct' relationship," it said, "between the alleged injury and the claim sought to be adjudicated," since "[t]he prospect that prosecution will, at least in the future, result in payment of support can, at best, be termed only speculative." Id., at 618. "[Our cases] demonstrate that, in American jurisprudence at least, a private citizen lacks a judicially cognizable interest in the prosecution or nonprosecution of another." Id., at 619.
Although the Court in Linda R. S. recited the "logical nexus" analysis of Flast v. Cohen, 392 U. S. 83 (1968), which has since fallen into desuetude, "it is clear that standing was denied . . . because of the unlikelihood that the relief requested would redress appellant's claimed injury." Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., 438 U. S. 59, 79, n. 24 (1978). There was no "logical nexus" between nonenforcement of the statute and Linda R. S.'s failure to receive support payments because "[t]he prospect that prosecution will . . . result in payment of support" was "speculative," Linda R. S., supra, at 618—that is to say, it was uncertain whether the relief would prevent the injury.1 Of
1 The decision in Linda R. S. did not turn, as today's opinion imaginatively suggests, on the father's short-term inability to pay support if imprisoned. Ante, at 188, n. 4. The Court's only comment upon the impris-
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