Eleventh Amendment
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 323 U.S. 459 - Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 1945Most cited · 3,410 citing opinions
This express constitutional limitation denies to the federal courts authority to entertain a suit brought by private parties against a state without its consent.
How the Supreme Court has restated “Eleventh Amendment”
Each Supreme Court definition of “Eleventh Amendment,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “Eleventh Amendment”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “Eleventh Amendment” — 3,819 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 3 definitions, chronological · 1809–1945
- ORIGINAL
The right of a state to assert, as plaintiff, any interest it may have in a subject, which forms the matter of controversy between individuals, in one of the courts of the United States, is not affected by this amendment; nor can it be so construed as to oust the court of its jurisdiction, should such claim be suggested. The amendment simply provides, that no suit shall be commenced or prosecuted against a state. The state cannot be made a defendant to a suit brought by an individual; but it remains the duty of the courts of the United States to decide all cases brought before them by citizens of one state against citizens of a different state, where a state is not necessarily a defendant.
does not bar suit where state holds no actual title
To have given the Supreme Court original jurisdiction, the State must be plaintiff or defendant as a State, and must, as a State, be a party on the record. A suit against the Planters' Bank of Georgia, is no more a suit against the State of Georgia, than against any other individual corporator. The State is not a party, that is, an entire party, in the cause.
state must be party of record