Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes it impossible for a citizen of one state to sue another state in federal court. The amendment was proposed on March 4, 1794, and ratified (approved) on Feb. 7, 1795. Because of delays that occurred in certifying the ratification, the amendment was not proclaimed until 1798.
The 11th Amendment states, “The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.”
Protections.
The 11th Amendment prohibits federal courts from deciding cases when a state is sued by a person who lives in another state. The language of the amendment is limited, but the Supreme Court of the United States has interpreted the amendment to have a much broader meaning. The court has found that the amendment protects a state from being sued in federal court by its own citizens or by a foreign state. The protection applies regardless of whether the case is about state or federal law. Under certain circumstances, however, one state can sue another or the federal government can sue a state. The court has ruled that the 11th Amendment expresses the doctrine of “sovereign immunity”—that is, the principle that “the king can do no wrong.” The amendment guarantees sovereign immunity to states, meaning that a state government cannot be sued without its own consent. If a state waives (gives up) this protection, for example, in the terms of a specific law, then private individuals may be able to sue the state.
In Alden v. Maine (1999), the Supreme Court also held that states, likewise, cannot be sued in state court for violating federal laws. The ruling was based on the 10th Amendment’s guarantee that the states retain all powers not given to the national government and the 11th Amendment’s principle of sovereign immunity. Individuals can still sue state officials in federal court for depriving them of their constitutional rights, but plaintiffs—the people filing the lawsuits—cannot recover financial awards in those cases.
History.
The origins of 11th Amendment derive from the 1793 case of Chisholm v. Georgia. In the case, a man from South Carolina sued the state of Georgia over an inheritance. Georgia argued that it could not be sued in federal court, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s argument. Georgia then led a movement to adopt the 11th Amendment. Congress adopted the amendment within months, and it soon became law. In the 1890 case Hans v. Louisiana, the court held that the 11th Amendment conclusively expresses the doctrine of sovereign immunity and therefore bars citizens of a state from suing the state without its consent in federal court.
In the late 1900’s, under the leadership of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court issued a series of rulings expanding the doctrine of sovereign immunity and limiting congressional power to authorize suits against states. Consequently, the 11th Amendment came to represent a robust doctrine of the states’ autonomy (ability to manage their own affairs) and sovereign immunity that extended well beyond the limited language of the amendment.
