Appellants intervened and participated throughout this lawsuit only in their official capacities as presiding officers on behalf of the state legislature. They no longer hold those offices, and the authority to pursue the lawsuit on behalf of the legislature has passed to their successors under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c)(1).
Karcher v. May, 484 U.S. 72 (1987), was a school prayer case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the former presiding officers of the New Jersey legislature did not have Article III standing to appeal a case, as that standing had passed on to their legislative successors.[1]
Karcher and Orechio appealed, although by the time of filing their terms as Speaker and President had expired; their successors, Chuck Hardwick and John F. Russo, joined the executive officers in refusing to defend the constitutionality of the statute. Karcher and Orechio's lawyer, Rex E. Lee, nevertheless contended that their standing to continue to defend suit on the state's behalf remained, and also argued the purpose of the law was secular.[5][6]
Opinion of the Court
The court found that the former legislative leaders lacked standing,[7] but that that authority had passed by design to the current leaders of the New Jersey legislature.[8] Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's majority decision was joined by six other justices, with Justice Byron White writing a concurring opinion. There was no ninth vote, as Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. had resigned earlier in the year, and no replacement had yet been confirmed.
As a result of this opinion, the district court ruling that the law was unconstitutional was left intact.[3]