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but there is a demonstrated probability that it will recur, a real-life controversy between parties with a personal stake in the outcome continues to exist." Honig v. Doe, 484 U. S. 305, 341 (1988) (Scalia, J., dissenting) (emphasis deleted).
Part of the confusion in the Court's discussion is engendered by the fact that it compares standing, on the one hand, with mootness based on voluntary cessation, on the other hand. Ante, at 190. The required showing that it is "absolutely clear" that the conduct "could not reasonably be expected to recur" is not the threshold showing required for mootness, but the heightened showing required in a particular category of cases where we have sensibly concluded that there is reason to be skeptical that cessation of violation means cessation of live controversy. For claims of mootness based on changes in circumstances other than voluntary cessation, the showing we have required is less taxing, and the inquiry is indeed properly characterized as one of " 'standing set in a time frame.' " See Arizonans, supra, at 67, 68, n. 22 (case mooted where plaintiff's change in jobs deprived case of "still vital claim for prospective relief"); Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U. S. 1, 7 (1998) (case mooted by petitioner's completion of his sentence, since "throughout the litigation, the plaintiff must have suffered, or be threatened with, an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision" (internal quotation marks omitted)); Lewis, supra, at 478-480 (case against State mooted by change in federal law that eliminated parties' "personal stake" in the outcome).
In sum, while the Court may be correct that the parallel between standing and mootness is imperfect due to realistic evidentiary presumptions that are by their nature applicable only in the mootness context, this does not change the underlying principle that " '[t]he requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation . . . must continue throughout its existence . . . .' " Arizonans, supra,
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