Amendment 11

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.

Important Case Law

Alden v. Maine

The Court held that Congress may not use its powers under Article I of the Constitution revoke a state’s sovreign immunity from private suits in its own courts.

United States v. Georgia

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 did validly revoke state sovereign immunity for suits by prisoners with disabilities challenging discrimination by state prisons Title II was also a proper exercise of Congress’s power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Osborn v. Bank of United States

The Court held that the Eleventh Amendment was limited to suits in which a state was party on the record. Then they held that Ohio was not the target of the suit in the case.

Additional Important Cases