What the 11th amendment says and how it affects states and citizens | Opinion
Editor's note: This is a regular feature on issues related to the Constitution and civics written by Paul G. Summers, retired judge and state attorney general.
The U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1789, is our supreme law. The first 10 amendments, or Bill of Rights, were ratified in December 1791.
The 11th Amendment was ratified four years later. When I served as attorney general of Tennessee, I dealt with the jurisdictional issues of the federal courts regularly. Seldom is it an easy question. Interpretations by our Supreme Court evolve as the country grows; populations increase; government influences multiply; and bureaucracies proliferate. With the 11th Amendment, we address the access citizens have when suing a state in federal court.
Amendment XI: “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.”
How the 11th Amendment changed liability against states
The 11th Amendment prohibits the federal courts from hearing certain kinds of civil suits against states. It has also been interpreted to mean that the state courts do not have to hear certain kinds of civil suits, if they are based on federal law.
The Supreme Court had ruled that the states did not have sovereign immunity, or freedom from being sued. The states could be sued by citizens of another state.
After the Amendment, states escaped liability exposure against suits brought by citizens of other states. The 11th Amendment basically overruled the Court’s 1793 decision in Chisholm v. Georgia. The Amendment also prohibits a federal suit against a state by “citizens or subjects of any foreign (country).”
A state's own citizens lawsuit against it
This Amendment does not affect the daily lives of most citizens. Its effect is primarily focused on state or national jurisdiction. Now the Supreme Court has found that if a state consents, it can be sued by its own citizen/s. A citizen of another state or a foreign citizen cannot sue a state in federal court.
Of course, there are several exceptions to the sovereign immunity of a state under the 11th Amendment. The most notable of which is waiver. The state has to clearly waive its right to sovereign immunity before this exception takes effect.
We shall continue our study of the Constitution in the next article about Amendment XII, ratified by the States in 1804.
Reading and studying the Constitution are times well spent.
Paul G. Summers is a lawyer. He is a former appellate and senior judge, district attorney general, and the attorney general of Tennessee. Raised in Fayette County, Judge Summers resides in Holladay and Nashville.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What the 11th amendment says and how it affects states and citizens
