The Eleventh Amendment

The Eleventh Amendment recognizes state sovereign immunity, protecting states from lawsuits filed in federal courts by citizens of other states or foreign countries.

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 or Subjects of any Foreign State.

This amendment limits a person’s ability to sue a state in federal court without the state’s permission. However, people can still sue state officials in federal court to stop them from enforcing unconstitutional laws.

The Eleventh Amendment modified Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution. Controversy surrounded Article III, primarily from Anti-Federalists, who generally opposed the Constitution; they feared that Section 2 would allow people to sue states in federal court. Not long after the Constitution was ratified, some individuals sued several states in the Supreme Court. Eventually, the states called on Congress to propose an amendment granting states sovereign immunity and preventing them from being sued in federal court without their consent. By February 1795, the necessary number of states had ratified the Eleventh Amendment.