Eleventh Amendment Notes

The Eleventh Amendment acts as a jurisdictional bar to suits brought against state governments in the federal courts. The best way to analyze the Eleventh Amendment as applied to any particular lawsuit is to ask yourself a series of questions that raise basic issues:

            1) First, is the plaintiff one to whom the amendment applies?

            2) Second, is the defendant in the lawsuit the “state”?  Suppose the defendant is a municipal corporation or a school board.  Does the Eleventh Amendment apply?

            3) Are there any exceptions to the jurisdictional bar of the Amendment?

 So, here goes:

            1) Which plaintiffs are subject to the Eleventh Amendment?

            On its face, the Eleventh Amendment provides only that the Judicial power of the United States does not 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.”

            Suppose I sue the State of Nebraska in Federal Court – does the Eleventh Amendment apply?  I, of course, am a proud and loyal citizen of Nebraska. Duncan v. State of Nebraska!

P. 262 Hans v. Louisiana:

            Yes.  The Supreme Court has held that the amendment by implication also bars suits by citizens of the defendant state.

Does this interpretation of the Eleventh Amendment make sense?

Actually, the theory is that “the entire judicial power granted by the Constitution” does not allow any private citizen to sue a state.

 “Fundamental principle of sovereign immunity limits the grant of judicial authority in Art. III.” P. 262 

This is what Hamilton was talking about in Federalist No. 81. 

 

Thus, all private plaintiffs are subject to the amendment.

Suppose the State of Nebraska sues me in federal court?

 The Eleventh Amendment does not apply to actions brought by a state against a private person. 

Suppose one state sues another state?

The Eleventh Amendment does not apply.

Suppose the federal government sues a state in federal court.

The Eleventh Amendment does not apply.  See p. 265, n. 1

 “The amendment does not bar jurisdiction by federal courts when a suit is brought by the federal government even where it is suing the state to protect private individuals.  Thus the Secretary of Labor of the United States may bring a federal suit against a state government to establish the rights of individual employees whose personal suit would be barred.”  --Prof. Nowak 

 

   Second issue: Who is protected by the Eleventh Amendment?

The Amendment only applies when “one of the United States is being sued.”

 

Suppose a public high school student sues the school board under the First Amendment?

 Is a school board “one of the United States?” Political subdivisions of the state, such as municipal corporations and school boards, are not covered and thus may be sued in federal court without raising an Eleventh Amendment issue.

What about a lawsuit in federal court brought by a student against UNL?

 State universities are part of state government and therefore receive immunity.

 Suppose you sue a state officer in federal court for official misconduct. (e.g. a lawsuit against the Attorney General, the director of the department of Social Services, or the President of a state university) 

It depends – if you are seeking a personal judgment against the state officer, then the Eleventh Amendment is not a bar. 

However, if the suit requests that the officer be ordered to pay funds from the state treasury, the suit will be barred because the state is the real party in interest.

However, there is one very important exception to these rules--the Ex Parte Young Exception which will be discussed in a separate blog post.