11th Amendment/State Sovereign Immunity

[Jeffrey T. Renz]

It in fact becomes more complicated.  First, a damages claim against a
state or state entity (agency, for example) would be barred by both the
11th Amendment and Will v. Dept. of State Police, which holds that a
state and state entity is not a person as that word is used in 42 U.S.C.
sec. 1983.  Second, acts or omissions that cause compensable injuries
flowing from constitutional violations are typically done by people, so
we avoid the 11th/Will problem by suing those responsible in their
individual, as opposed to official, capacities.  Third, Ex Parte Young
does permit actions for declaratory or injunctive relief against those
people in their official capacities.  One additional reason for Ex Parte
Young's importance is found in the fact that "Joe Smith," may not be the
director of  the Department of Civil Rights Violations when relief is
granted.  Fourth, counties and other local governments, even though they
are often referred to as subdivisions of the state or state government,
are not usually considered state entities.  They are, under Monell v.
Dept. of Social Services, considered a person as the term is used in
sec. 1983.  This isn't as simple as it sounds in all cases.  For
example, in some states, local school districts, because of their close
affiliation to the state and because they are funded by the state
legislature and not local funds, have been held to be state entities.

Jeff Renz

Conkle, Daniel O. wrote:

> I'm an 11th Amendment/state sovereign immunity novice, so please
> forgive me
> if this is a stupid question, but are there 11th Amendment/state
> sovereign
> immunity issues when a suit is brought claiming that a State has
> violated or
> is violating the *Constitution*, as opposed to a congressional statute
> such
> as the ADA, etc.?
>
> E.g., someone sues a State, claiming a violation of the dormant
> commerce
> clause.  Does state sovereign immunity bar a claim for damages, i.e.,
> against the State as such (assuming such a remedy is otherwise
> inferable
> from the Constitution)?  As to injunctive or declaratory relief, must
> the
> plaintiff challenger use the Ex Parte Young device?
>
> What about claims of individual rights under the 14th Am., or under
> the Bill
> of Rights as incorporated into the 14th Amendment?  E.g., someone
> brings a
> suit against a State for injunctive or declaratory relief against a
> restriction on abortion, claiming that it violates substantive due
> process.
> Clearly, Congress could authorize this suit under Section 5 of the
> 14th
> Amendment, but if there is no such congressional action, is the suit
> barred
> by sovereign immunity, requiring the challenger to use Ex Parte Young?
>
> Dan Conkle
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Daniel O. Conkle
> Professor of Law
> Indiana University School of Law
> Bloomington, Indiana  47405
> (812) 855-4331
> fax (812) 855-0555
> mailto:conkle at indiana.edu
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *