Chisholm v. Georgia

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Chisholm v. Georgia
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 5, 1793 Decided February 18, 1793
Full case name: Alexander Chisholm, Executors v. Georgia Citations: 2 U.S. 419; 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419; 1 L. Ed. 440; 1793 U.S. LEXIS 249 Prior history: Original action filed, U.S. Supreme Court, August, 1792 Subsequent history: None on record
Holding
Article III, Section 2's grant of federal jurisdiction over suits "between a State and Citizens of another State" abrogated the States' sovereign immunity recognized at common law, thus allowing a private individual to hale a State into federal court.
Court membership
Chief Justice: John Jay Associate Justices: James Wilson, William Cushing, John Blair, James Iredell
Case opinions
Seriatim opinion by: Cushing Seriatim opinion by: Blair Seriatim opinion by: Wilson Seriatim opinion by: Jay Dissent by: Iredell
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III; Judiciary Act of 1789
Superseded by
U.S. Const. amend. XI

Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419 (1793)^[1], is considered by many to be the first United States Supreme Court case of great significance and impact. Because of its early date, there is little background information (particularly in American law) available for it.

Background of the case

In 1792 in South Carolina, Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state of Georgia in the Supreme Court over payments due them for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. U.S. Attorney General Edmund Randolph appeared to argue the case for the plaintiff before the Court. Georgia refused to appear, claiming that as a "sovereign," a state did not have to appear in court to hear a suit against it to which it did not consent.

The Court's decision

The Court, in a 4-1 decision, found in favor of the plaintiff, with Chief Justice of the United States John Jay concurring with Justices Blair, Wilson, and Cushing, with Justice Iredell dissenting. (At the time, there was no one "majority" opinion; the Justices simply delivered their own opinions one by one, in order from the most junior to the most senior.) The Court argued that Article 3, Section 2 of the Constitution abrogated the States' sovereign immunity and granted federal courts the affirmative power to hear disputes between private citizens and States.

Subsequent developments

In 1795, largely as a result of Chisholm, the Eleventh Amendment was ratified, which removed federal jurisdiction in cases where citizens of one state or foreign countries attempt to sue another state. However, citizens of one state or foreign countries can still use the Federal courts if the state consents to be sued or if Congress, pursuant to a valid exercise of Fourteenth Amendment remedial powers, abrogates the states' immunity from suit. See, e.g., Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445 (1976).

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 2

References

• Jean Edward Smith, John Marshall: Definer Of A Nation, New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1996.
• Jean Edward Smith, The Constitution And American Foreign Policy, St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1989.

External links

1. ^ 2 U.S. 419 (Full text of the decision at Findlaw.com)

• Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793) (full text with links to cited Supreme Court opinions and sections of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Code, and C.F.R.)