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“I Came, I Saw, I was Offended” - It’s Time to Finish Offended Observer Standing

Does the ACLU have the right to sue a judge over his display of the Ten Commandments simply because one of its members finds the display offensive? Does a federal court have the constitutional authority to order the removal of the Ten Commandments merely because an ACLU member finds their public display demeaning?

These questions raise the issue of what’s called “offended observer” standing — an issue at stake in our pending Supreme Court petition in ACLU v. DeWeese. Under this theory, a court has jurisdiction to adjudicate a challenge to a governmental religious display based on nothing more than the allegation that observation of the display causes offense. Groups like the ACLU and the Freedom from Religion Foundation have used this theory to challenge everything from nativity scenes to memorial crosses to Ten Commandments displays. As we wrote in our petition, offended observer standing amounts to little more than “I came, I saw, I was offended.”

http://aclj.org/10-commandments/i-came-i-saw-i-was-offended-its-time-finish-offended-observer-standing