The legal principle behind a more restrained Supreme Court term

It is the first question that must be answered in every U.S. Supreme Court case: Does the court have jurisdiction to hear the case at all?

The question of standing, as it is called, loomed large over the just-concluded term in cases covering everything from immigration policy to student loans to Native adoption law.

Standing doctrine, per the U.S. Constitution, limits federal court jurisdiction to certain “cases” and “controversies.”

If this seems vague – well, not even the nine justices always agree, especially when it comes to cases brought by...