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circumstances. For similar reasons, Plaintiffs have failed to allege a constitutional injury sufficient for standing and cannot satisfy the doctrine’s causation and redressability requirements. A.
The judiciary alone has the inherent (though limited) power to compel funding necessary to its fundamental functions
The separation-of-powers doctrine “serves mainly to ensure that the fundamental functions of each branch remain inviolate.” Carrick v. Locke, 125 Wn.2d 129, 135, 882 P.2d 173 (1994). Under the Washington Constitution, “[t]he judicial power” is “vested” in the “courts,” Const. art. IV, § 1, while “[t]he power of appropriation is vested in the Legislature.” City of Ellensburg v. State, 118 Wn.2d 709, 718, 826 P.2d 1081 (1992) (citing Const. art. VIII, § 4). “Legislative control over appropriations” and “the judicial authority to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional” are “examples of direct control by one branch over another”—part of the “delicate balance” of the constitutional checks-andbalances system. Juvenile Director, 87 Wn.2d 232, 242-43. “It is the rare case” in which one branch “interferes with” the power of another. City of Ellensberg, 118 Wn.2d at 718. In Matter of Salary of Juvenile Director, the Washington Supreme Court recognized a narrow exception to the general principle of judicial noninterference with legislative appropriations powers: “While courts must limit their incursions into the legislative realm in deference to the separation of powers doctrine,” the judiciary must “be able to ensure its own survival when insufficient funds are provided by the other branches.” 87 Wn.2d at 245. As such, the judiciary has “inherent power . . . to compel funding of its own functions,” i.e., “the basic needs
MOTION TO DISMISS Case No. 21-2-06462-7 SEA 153411396
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