The 11th Amendment and State Sovereign Immunity

Alden v. Maine: Facts

A Group of probation officers filed suit against the State of Maine in district court alleging they had violated overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

Alden v. Maine: Issue

May Congress, under its powers in Section 5 of the 14th Amendment, authorize suits against state governments in state court?

Home Building Loan Assoc. v Blaisdell: Facts

Plaintiff was a mortgage lending company that objected to the law on the grounds that it violated the Contract Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Defendant is official charged with administering the new law. The Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the law as a valid exercise of state power.

Exceptions to 11th Amendment

(1) No City or County has Sovereign immunity, only the states. (2) Ex Parte Young Exception: You can sue a state official for an injunction or declaratory judgement, non-monetary. (3) Fed Government and Other States can Sue. (4) 11th amendment restricts congress' ability to authorize lawsuits (5) Congress uses 14th Amendment (6) Can sue directly for constitutional violation.

Home Building Loan Assoc. v. Blaisdell: Holding

A state extending over certain private interests in an emergency does not violate the 14th amendment. The existence of an emergency does not create power for the government to act, but rather furnishes the occasion for the exercise of power already granted.

Home Building Loan Assoc. v. Blaisdell: Issue

Does a state extending over certain private interests in an emergency violate the fourteenth amendment?

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority: Issue

Does the 11th Amendment provide for safety against actions by private citizens in federal administrative proceedings?

Seminole Tribe fo Florida v. Florida: Issue

Does the Indian Commerce Clause, like the interstate commerce clause, grant the authority of the Federal Government at the expense of the states?

True/False: If a private agreement stands in the way, it DOES NOT HAVE to yield

False. It does have to yield, however when the emergency is over the agreement reverts back (Home Building Loan Assoc.)

Test to determine whether congress has abrogated the States' sovereign immunity

First, whether congress has unequivocally expressed its intent to abrogate the immunity, and Second, whether congress has acted pursuant to a valid exercise of power.

Alden v. Maine: Holding

No, Congress's Article I powers do not grant it power to subject non-consenting states to private suits for damages in state courts. The states' sovereign immunity from suit is not actually derived from the Eleventh Amendment but is a fundamental concept of sovereignty they enjoyed before ratification of the United States Constitution.

Seminole Tribe fo Florida v. Florida: Holding

Notwithstanding congress' clear intent to abrogate the States' sovereign immunity, the Indian Commerce Clause does not grant congress that power, and therefore cannot rant jurisdiction over a state that does not consent to be sued

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority: Facts

SC Maritime services requested permission from the ports authority to berth a cruise ship at the port of Charleston. The Authority denied the request based on a policy of denying births to gambling ships. The complaint was then filed with the FMC alleging this violated the Federal Shipping Act. Authority filed a motion to dismiss asserting protection under the 11th amendment.

True/False: A contract is a private bargain, the constitution says that states cannot impair or alter private bargains. But read into that is the idea that private bargains cannot deprive a state of its police power.

True (Home Building Loan assoc.)

11th Amendment

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/subjects of a foreign state

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority: Holding

The 11th amendment provides for safety against actions by private citizens in federal administrative proceedings. The Eleventh Amendment provides immunity for states against actions by private citizens in federal administrative proceedings. The US Supreme Court has interpreted the protections of the 11th Amendment to extend beyond its literal text.

Seminole Tribe fo Florida v. Florida: Facts

The Indian gaming regulatory act provides that an Indian tribe may conduct certain gaming activities only in conformance with a valid compact between the tribe and the state in which the gaming activities are located. Congress passed the Indian gaming regulatory act in 1988 in order to provide a statutory basis for the operation and regulation of gaming by Indian tribes.

True/False: The Eleventh Amendment provides immunity for states against actions by private citizens in federal administrative proceedings

True

True/False: As long as a private agreement is temporary and doesn't completely change the rights of the parties, it can win.

True.