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{{US Constitution article series}}
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[[Image:11th Amendment Pg1of1 AC.jpg|190px|thumb|The Eleventh Amendment in the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]]]]
The '''Eleventh Amendment''' ('''Amendment XI''') to the [[United States Constitution]], which was passed by the [[United States Congress|Congress]] on March 4, 1794, and was ratified on February 7, 1795, deals with each [[U.S. state|state's]] [[sovereign immunity]]. This amendment was adopted in order to overrule the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court's]] decision in ''[[Chisholm v. Georgia]]'', {{ussc|2|419|1793}}.

==Text==
{{cquote|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.}}

==Summary==
{{seealso|Sovereign immunity#State sovereign immunity|l1=State sovereign immunity}}
The Eleventh Amendment, the first amendment to the Constitution after the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], was adopted following the Supreme Court's ruling in ''[[Chisholm v. Georgia]]'', {{ussc|2|419|1793}}. In ''Chisholm'', the Court ruled that federal courts had the authority to hear cases in law and [[Equity (law)|equity]] brought by private citizens against states and that states did not enjoy [[sovereign immunity]] from suits made by citizens of other states. Thus, the amendment clarified [[Article Three of the United States Constitution#Section 2: Federal jurisdiction and trial by jury|Article III, Section 2]] of the Constitution, which gave [[diversity jurisdiction]] to the judiciary to hear cases "between a state and citizens of another state."

The amendment's text does not mention suits brought against a state by its ''own'' citizens. However, in ''[[Hans v. Louisiana]],'' {{ussc|134|1|1890}}, the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment reflects a broader principle of sovereign immunity. As [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Justice]] [[Anthony Kennedy]], writing for a five Justice majority, stated in ''[[Alden v. Maine]]'', {{ussc|527|706|1999}}:{{quote|[S]overeign immunity derives not from the Eleventh Amendment but from the structure of the original Constitution itself....Nor can we conclude that the specific Article I powers delegated to Congress necessarily include, by virtue of the [[Necessary and Proper Clause]] or otherwise, the incidental authority to subject the States to private suits as a means of achieving objectives otherwise within the scope of the enumerated powers.<ref>[http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-436.ZO.html Opinion of the Court in ''Alden v. Maine'']</ref>}}

Writing for a four-Justice dissent in ''Alden'', Justice [[David Souter]] said the states surrendered their sovereign immunity when they ratified the Constitution. The dissenting justices read the amendment's text as reflecting a narrow form of sovereign immunity that limited only the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts. They concluded that the states are not insulated from suits by individuals by either the Eleventh Amendment in particular or the Constitution in general.<ref>[http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-436.ZD.html Dissenting opinion in ''Alden v. Maine'']</ref>

Although the Eleventh Amendment immunizes states from suit for money damages or equitable relief without their consent, in ''[[Ex parte Young]]'', {{ussc|209|123|1908}}, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts may [[Injunction|enjoin]] state officials from violating federal law. In ''[[Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer]]'', {{ussc|427|445|1976}}, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress may [[abrogation doctrine|abrogate]] state immunity from suit under the [[Congressional power of enforcement|enforcement clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Power of enforcement|Fourteenth Amendment]]. In ''[[Central Virginia Community College v. Katz]]'' {{ussc|546|356|2006}}, the Court ruled the Congress could do the same regarding [[bankruptcy]] cases by way of [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 8: Powers of Congress|Article I, Section 8, Clause 4]] of the Constitution. Also, in ''[[Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga.]]'', {{ussc|535|613|2002}}, the Supreme Court ruled that a state voluntarily [[Waiver|waives]] the Eleventh Amendment when it invokes a [[United States federal courts|federal court's]] [[removal jurisdiction]].

The [[United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]] has ruled that [[Puerto Rico]] enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity.<ref>e.g., [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/715/694/404809/ ''Ramirez v. Puerto Rico Fire Service and Office of Personnel'' (1st Cir. 1983)].</ref>

==Proposal and ratification==
The Eleventh Amendment was proposed by the Congress on March 4, 1794, and was ratified by the following states:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usconstitution.net/constamrat.html|title=Ratification of Constitutional Amendments|accessdate=February 24, 2007|last=Mount|first=Steve|year=2007|month=January}}</ref>
# New York (March 27, 1794)
# Rhode Island (March 31, 1794)
# Connecticut (May 8, 1794)
# New Hampshire (June 16, 1794)
# Massachusetts (June 26, 1794)
# Vermont (November 9, 1794)
# Virginia (November 18, 1794)
# Georgia (November 29, 1794)
# Kentucky (December 7, 1794)
# Maryland (December 26, 1794)
# Delaware (January 23, 1795)
# North Carolina (February 7, 1795)
Ratification was completed on February 7, 1795.

The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following state:

# South Carolina (December 4, 1797).

The following states did not ratify the amendment:
# New Jersey
# Pennsylvania

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite journal|last=Clark|first=Bradford R.|year=2010|title=The Eleventh Amendment and the Nature of the Union|journal=[[Harvard Law Review]]|volume=123|issue=8|pages=1817–1918|url=http://www.harvardlawreview.org/media/pdf/vol123_clark.pdf}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html#11 National Archives: Eleventh Amendment]
*[http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt11toc_user.html CRS Annotated Constitution: Eleventh Amendment]
*[http://www.papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1147764 Leaving the Chisholm Trail]
*[http://lawhighereducation.com/51-eleventh-amendment.html Law and higher education: Eleventh Amendment]

{{US Constitution}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:11}}
[[Category:1795 in law|Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution]]
[[Category:Amendments to the United States Constitution]]
[[Category:History of the United States (1789–1849)]]
[[Category:1795 in the United States]]
[[Category:3rd United States Congress]]

[[de:11. Zusatzartikel zur Verfassung der Vereinigten Staaten]]
[[es:Undécima Enmienda a la Constitución de los Estados Unidos]]
[[fa:اصلاحیه یازدهم قانون اساسی ایالات متحده آمریکا]]
[[he:התיקון ה-11 לחוקת ארצות הברית]]
[[ja:アメリカ合衆国憲法修正第11条]]
[[pl:11. poprawka do Konstytucji Stanów Zjednoczonych]]
[[ru:Одиннадцатая поправка к Конституции США]]

Revision as of 19:04, 7 October 2011

This article is part of a series on the
Constitution
of the United States
Preamble and Articles
Amendments to the Constitution
Unratified Amendments:
History
Full text
The Eleventh Amendment in the National Archives

The Eleventh Amendment (Amendment XI) to the United States Constitution, which was passed by the Congress on March 4, 1794, and was ratified on February 7, 1795, deals with each state's sovereign immunity. This amendment was adopted in order to overrule the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793).

Text

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.

Summary

See also: State sovereign immunity

The Eleventh Amendment, the first amendment to the Constitution after the Bill of Rights, was adopted following the Supreme Court's ruling in Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793). In Chisholm, the Court ruled that federal courts had the authority to hear cases in law and equity brought by private citizens against states and that states did not enjoy sovereign immunity from suits made by citizens of other states. Thus, the amendment clarified Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, which gave diversity jurisdiction to the judiciary to hear cases "between a state and citizens of another state."

The amendment's text does not mention suits brought against a state by its own citizens. However, in Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890), the Supreme Court ruled that the amendment reflects a broader principle of sovereign immunity. As Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for a five Justice majority, stated in Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999):

[S]overeign immunity derives not from the Eleventh Amendment but from the structure of the original Constitution itself....Nor can we conclude that the specific Article I powers delegated to Congress necessarily include, by virtue of the Necessary and Proper Clause or otherwise, the incidental authority to subject the States to private suits as a means of achieving objectives otherwise within the scope of the enumerated powers.[1]

Writing for a four-Justice dissent in Alden, Justice David Souter said the states surrendered their sovereign immunity when they ratified the Constitution. The dissenting justices read the amendment's text as reflecting a narrow form of sovereign immunity that limited only the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts. They concluded that the states are not insulated from suits by individuals by either the Eleventh Amendment in particular or the Constitution in general.[2]

Although the Eleventh Amendment immunizes states from suit for money damages or equitable relief without their consent, in Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908), the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts may enjoin state officials from violating federal law. In Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445 (1976), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress may abrogate state immunity from suit under the enforcement clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Central Virginia Community College v. Katz 546 U.S. 356 (2006), the Court ruled the Congress could do the same regarding bankruptcy cases by way of Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution. Also, in Lapides v. Board of Regents of Univ. System of Ga., 535 U.S. 613 (2002), the Supreme Court ruled that a state voluntarily waives the Eleventh Amendment when it invokes a federal court's removal jurisdiction.

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has ruled that Puerto Rico enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity.[3]

Proposal and ratification

The Eleventh Amendment was proposed by the Congress on March 4, 1794, and was ratified by the following states:[4]

  1. New York (March 27, 1794)
  2. Rhode Island (March 31, 1794)
  3. Connecticut (May 8, 1794)
  4. New Hampshire (June 16, 1794)
  5. Massachusetts (June 26, 1794)
  6. Vermont (November 9, 1794)
  7. Virginia (November 18, 1794)
  8. Georgia (November 29, 1794)
  9. Kentucky (December 7, 1794)
  10. Maryland (December 26, 1794)
  11. Delaware (January 23, 1795)
  12. North Carolina (February 7, 1795)

Ratification was completed on February 7, 1795.

The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following state:

  1. South Carolina (December 4, 1797).

The following states did not ratify the amendment:

  1. New Jersey
  2. Pennsylvania

References

  1. ^ Opinion of the Court in Alden v. Maine
  2. ^ Dissenting opinion in Alden v. Maine
  3. ^ e.g., Ramirez v. Puerto Rico Fire Service and Office of Personnel (1st Cir. 1983).
  4. ^ Mount, Steve (2007). "Ratification of Constitutional Amendments". Retrieved February 24, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Further reading

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