Johnson v. United States Department of the Treasury

MEMORANDUM

Clifford Johnson appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that the United States Department of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Treasury violated his First Amendment right to freedom of expression by publishing statements about Federal Reserve notes that are contrary to Johnson’s views and allegedly false. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s determination that Johnson does not have Article III standing, Jewel v. Nat’l Sec. Agency, 673 F.3d 902, 907 (9th Cir.2011), and we affirm.

The district court properly concluded that Johnson failed to allege the essential elements of Article III standing, including personal injury that is fairly traceable to defendants’ allegedly false representations and likely to be redressed by an order granting Johnson a declaratory judgment. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 , 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (identifying three core requirements for standing under Article III of the United States Constitution); Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of Church & State, Inc., 454 U.S.…