Diamond v. Charles

Diamond v. Charles
Argued November 5, 1985
Decided April 30, 1986
Full case nameEugene F. Diamond and Jasper F. Williams, et al. v. Allan G. Charles et al.
Citations476 U.S. 54 (more)
106 S. Ct. 1697; 90 L. Ed. 2d 48
Case history
PriorUnited States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Holding
The State of Illinois, by failing to appeal, has indicated no direct interest in upholding the four sections of the Abortion Law at issue. A private party whose own conduct is neither implicated nor threatened by a criminal statute has no judicially cognizable interest in the statute's defense. The appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
MajorityBlackmun, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, Burger (Part I), Rehnquist (Part I), O'Connor (Part I), White
ConcurrenceO'Connor (in part and in the judgment), joined by Burger, Rehnquist
ConcurrenceWhite (in the judgment)
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III §2

Diamond v. Charles, 476 U.S. 54 (1986), was a United States Supreme Court case that determined that citizens do not have Article III standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state statute in federal court unless they possess a "direct stake" in the outcome.