Final answer:
The statement that the plaintiff must show a legal wrong to exercise standing to sue is true. Standing is essential in ensuring that courts address cases with real impacts, requiring the injured party to prove their claim and the legal wrong committed by the defendant.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the traditional rule, in order to exercise standing to sue, the plaintiff must show that a so-called legal wrong is involved. This statement is true. The concept of standing is a fundamental principle in the legal system, particularly in the context of the adversarial judicial system of the United States. Standing is the requirement that a petitioner must have a legitimate basis for bringing a case before a court.
This means that the individual must have suffered a concrete and particularized injury that can be rectified or redressed by the court. This principle ensures that courts are not called upon to make abstract or hypothetical rulings; instead, they address issues with direct and substantial impact on the parties involved.
The burden of proof in both civil and criminal cases lies on the plaintiff. In civil cases, the plaintiff claims to have been harmed by the defendant's actions. As the injured party, the plaintiff must provide evidence to establish that the injury suffered is a direct consequence of the defendant's behavior, and that this action constitutes a legal wrong. In criminal cases, the plaintiff is the government, which accuses the defendant of violating specific laws. Here too, the government must prove that the defendant's actions constituted a legal wrong.
In summary, the concept of legal wrong is integral to the plaintiff's standing to sue because it establishes the necessary connection between the plaintiff's injury and the defendant’s conduct. Without a legal wrong, the court would have no grounds to hear the case, as there would be no issue of law or fact to resolve.