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right to counsel, court had inherent power to award compensation to appointed counsel in “emergency situation” caused by public defender’s resignation). Plaintiffs’ complaint even acknowledges that the power to compel funding is “inherent” to the judiciary and enables “the judiciary . . . to ensure its own survival.” FAC ¶ 5.10 (emphasis added). In sum, Plaintiffs are improperly “asserting another’s legal rights”—the exclusive right of the judicial branch to use its inherent authority to compel constitutional funding in the “rare cases” where this is warranted. Plaintiffs’ complaint must be dismissed for lack of standing for this reason alone. C.
Plaintiffs fail to allege a constitutional injury, causation, or redressability sufficient for standing
Plaintiffs also lack standing because delays in their civil trials do not amount to a constitutional injury, and because the public records in their own underlying cases undermine their theory that delays are caused by inadequate funding or are redressable by their requested relief. To allege injury sufficient for standing to challenge the constitutionality of court funding—assuming Plaintiffs could step into the judiciary’s shoes to do so, which they cannot—Plaintiffs would have to allege that the courts have been so underfunded that they are unable to “fulfill [their] duties.” Juvenile Director, 87 Wn.2d at 252. Notably, Plaintiffs do not allege that a single biennial budgetary request from the Chief Justice has recently gone unsatisfied by the Legislature.15
Plaintiffs’ allegation that the judicial branch is “excluded from participation” in the state budgeting process (FAC ¶ 5.9; see also id. ¶ 5.5) is incorrect as a matter of law. The judicial branch provides formal budget requests 15
MOTION TO DISMISS Case No. 21-2-06462-7 SEA 153411396
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