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Constitution Signed 1787
The day our constitution was written and signed -
11th Amendment Adopted
The Eleventh Amendment was adopted to overrule the Supreme Court's decision in Chisholm v. Georgia -
11th Amendment Passed by Congress
11th Amendment was passed by the congress -
11th Amendment Ratified
The 11th Amendment was finally ratified following its passing -
Cohens V. Virginia
The court rejected a challenge to its jurisdiction to review a state court decision in a criminal case, in which Virginia prosecuted two brothers from Virginia for selling lottery tickets. The Cohens defended that a federal statute authorized the lottery and ticket sales. the Amendment would not apply because the Cohens were citizens of Virginia, and thus their appeal against Virginia was not by a citizen of another State, or by a citizen or subject of any foreign State -
State of Louisiana Ex Rel. Elliot V. Jumel
The Louisiana state legislature enacted a statute in 1874 to issue consolidated bonds, however, a new state constitution was established in 1880 that altered the amount of interest to be collected on the bonds. Bondholders filed a lawsuit against several state officials to request payment owed before the new statute was established, but the officials refused. The circuit court held that the state officials were not obligated to pay or collect the funds and were protected from doing so -
Hans v. Louisiana
Hans, a Louisiana citizen, filed a suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the state in 1884 to recover the amount of certain coupons annexed to state bonds for accrued interest. But the suit was dropped due to the 11th Amendment not allowing you to sue your state -
Ex Parte Young
A lawsuit seeking an injunction against a state official did not violate the sovereign immunity of the state, because the state official was not acting on behalf of the state when he sought to enforce an unconstitutional law. This is an example of how the 11th Amendment is in play but was not charged against the person suing the state. -
Abrogation Doctrine
The Abrogation doctrine is a US constitutional law doctrine expounding when and how Congress may waive a state's sovereign immunity and subject it to lawsuits to which the state has not consented to abrogate its immunity to such suits -
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
The Seminole Tribe of Florida requested that the state enter such a negotiation. When the state refused, the Tribe filed suit, as allowed by the statute, against the state of Florida and the governor, Lawton Chiles. The District Court declined to dismiss the case, but the Eleventh Circuit reversed, holding that the Eleventh Amendment barred the suit and that the doctrine of Ex parte Young could not be used to force good faith negotiation.