Distinguish standing from jurisdiction.

• A. Standing concerns the court's power to rule on the merits.
• B. Jurisdiction is the right to appeal a decision.
• C. Standing is the right to bring a case; jurisdiction is the court's authority to hear it; both must be present.
• D. Standing and jurisdiction are the same concept.

Answer: (C)

Standing is about whether a party has a direct stake in the outcome and thus may sue; jurisdiction is about whether the court has the power or authority to hear and decide the case. For a case to proceed, you need both: the plaintiff must have standing, and the court must have jurisdiction. If someone lacks standing, the matter isn’t justiciable even if the court could hear it; if the court lacks jurisdiction, it cannot hear the case even if standing exists. The right to appeal is a separate concept and relates to reviewing a decision, not to bringing the original case. So standing and jurisdiction are distinct—and both must be present for a case to move forward.