Hans v. Louisiana
| Hans v. Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Argued January 22, 1890 Decided March 3, 1890 | |
| Full case name | Bernard Hans v. State of Louisiana |
| Citations | 134 U.S. 1 (more) 10 S. Ct. 504; 33 L. Ed. 842; 1890 U.S. LEXIS 1943 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 24 F. 55 (C.C.E.D. La. 1885) |
| Subsequent | None |
| Holding | |
| No "arising under" jurisdiction granted either in federal law or in article III of the U.S. Constitution permits a citizen to sue his own state in federal court, except where that state consents to be sued. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Bradley, joined by Fuller, Miller, Field, Gray, Blatchford, Lamar, Brewer |
| Concurrence | Harlan |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. III, § 2; U.S. Const. amend. XI | |
Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court determining that the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a citizen of a U.S. state from suing that state in a federal court. Citizens cannot bring suits against their own state for cases related to the federal constitution and federal laws. The court left open the question of whether a citizen may sue his or her state in state courts. That ambiguity was resolved in Alden v. Maine (1999), in which the Court held that a state's sovereign immunity forecloses suits against a state government in state court.