Chisholm vs. Georgia

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the case of Chisholm vs. Georgia of 1793 that is considered by many to be the first great United States Supreme Court case. The paper presents the case of South Carolina residents executing the estate of Alexander Chisholm, who sued the state of Georgia in the Supreme Court over payments due them for goods that Chisholm had supplied to Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. The paper discusses the Court's ruling and describes the Eleventh Amendment, which was passed a couple of years thereafter.

From the Paper:

"Two years later, the Eleventh Amendment was passed, which states, "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" (Eleventh PP). This amendment forbids Federal jurisdiction in cases when citizens of one state or foreign countries attempt to sue another state and formally removed the Court's jurisdiction in such cases, however, citizens of one state or foreign countries can still use the Federal courts if the state consents to be sued or if Congress abrogates the states' immunity from suit (Wikipedia PP). Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999) states, "Private individuals cannot enforce federal laws against unconsenting states in state court to the extent enforcement is barred in federal court by the 11th Amendment" (Amendment PP). The state can waive immunity, however, the waiver must be knowing and authorized, and moreover, the mere acceptance of federal funds does not constitute clear consent, such as in Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon, 473 U.S. 234 (1985) (Amendment PP). Sovereign immunity bars suits against unconsenting states in state court for violations of federal law and from authorizing a federal agency to adjudicate complaints by private persons against a state or state agency."

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