A plaintiff brings a lawsuit against Congress, seeking judicial intervention to declare a statute unconstitutional due to Congress allegedly failing to adhere to its internal procedural rules during the statute’s passage. The defendant argues that the issue is not suitable for judicial determination. Under the doctrine of justiciability, which is the strongest reason the court should dismiss the case?
The Eleventh Amendment extends sovereign immunity to Congress in cases concerning its legislative decisions.
The issue involves a political question, which courts avoid due to the matter being textually committed to Congress or lacking judicially manageable standards.
The dispute is moot because the alleged procedural violation occurred in the past and cannot be undone.
The plaintiff lacks standing, as they cannot show a personal and concrete injury caused by the statute's passage.
The political question doctrine bars courts from deciding issues that are textually committed to another branch of government or that inherently lack judicially manageable standards for resolution. How Congress adheres to its internal procedural rules falls squarely within the scope of matters committed to the legislative branch. The judiciary avoids interfering in such issues to preserve separation of powers.
The incorrect answers are close but do not correctly capture the essence of the political question doctrine. For example, standing concerns whether the plaintiff has the legal right to bring the case but does not address the court's ability to adjudicate on inherently political matters. Similarly, mootness deals with whether a live controversy still exists, which is not the issue in this particular scenario.
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