Eleventh Amendment

Verbatim

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.

Plain English

Federal courts cannot hear lawsuits brought against a state by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of a foreign country. This protects states from being sued in federal court by people from outside the state.

About

The Eleventh Amendment was ratified on February 7, 1795, in direct response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which had allowed a citizen of one state to sue another state in federal court. States objected strongly, and the amendment was passed to overrule the decision.

The amendment is the basis of the modern doctrine of sovereign immunity, the principle that states generally cannot be sued without their consent. Courts have read the amendment broadly, applying it even to lawsuits brought by a state's own citizens against the state, despite the text's narrower language.