A Seminole Dissent?

Abstract

This article, part of a symposium on the Rehnquist Court's 11th Amendment jurisprudence, contends that the Court's holding in Seminole Tribe v. Florida, is inconsistent with the original understanding of the 11th Amendment. While the 11th Amendment recognized state sovereignty, it did so only over areas where the states remained sovereign, not over areas that had been delegated to the national government. Properly understood, therefore, state sovereign immunity from suit in federal court applies only to the diversity jurisdiction of the federal courts, not the federal question jurisdiction.

Keywords: Eleventh Amendment, Sovereign Immunity, Seminole Tribe v. Florida, Federalism, Rehnquist Court

JEL Classification: H10, H11, H70, H77