Which principle states that courts cannot decide abstract issues or render advisory opinions; they may only decide cases involving litigants who are personally affected by the court's decision?

• A. Pleading
• B. Standing
• C. Jurisdiction
• D. Minimum Contacts

Answer: (B)

Standing is the requirement that a party bringing a lawsuit must have a concrete, particularized injury that is actual or imminent and fairly traceable to the defendant’s conduct, with a likelihood that the court’s relief could redress the injury. This ensures courts resolve only real disputes where the parties are personally affected, not abstract questions or mere hypotheticals. The idea rests on the case-or-controversy limitation in Article III, which means there must be a live controversy for the court to decide. The injury can be direct to the plaintiff or a claimed threat of harm that the court can remedy. Organizations can have standing if the harm to their members is concrete and distributes through the organization’s purpose, and the requested relief would address that harm.

Pleading is about how claims are asserted in court, not whether the issue is appropriate for judicial decision. Jurisdiction concerns whether the court has the power to hear the case, which is broader than the requirement that there be a real, individual stake in the outcome. Minimum contacts deal with constitutional limits on exercising personal jurisdiction, not the necessity of a live dispute with a personally affected party.