Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

E114954

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida is a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court case that significantly limited Congress’s power to subject non-consenting states to lawsuits in federal court, reinforcing state sovereign immunity.

All labels observed (2)

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Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf U.S. Supreme Court case
United States constitutional law case
federal courts case
areaOfLaw constitutional law
federal Indian law
federal courts
arguedDate 1995-10-11
chiefJusticeAtDecision William H. Rehnquist
citation 517 U.S. 44
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted Article I, Section 8, Indian Commerce Clause
Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1996-03-27
decisionType 5–4 decision
dissentingOpinionBy David H. Souter
John Paul Stevens
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
docketNumber 94-12
fullName Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida self-link
holding Congress lacks power under Article I to abrogate state sovereign immunity from suits by private parties in federal court
The Eleventh Amendment bars suits in federal court by an Indian tribe against a non-consenting state to enforce IGRA
The Indian Commerce Clause does not authorize Congress to subject non-consenting states to suits by Indian tribes in federal court
impact restricted enforcement mechanisms available to Indian tribes under IGRA
significantly limited Congress’s ability to authorize private suits against non-consenting states under Article I powers
strengthened state sovereign immunity doctrine in federal courts
joinedByInMajority Anthony M. Kennedy
Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas
Sandra Day O’Connor
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction
legalIssue Article I powers of Congress
Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
surface form: Eleventh Amendment

Indian Commerce Clause
federal jurisdiction over non-consenting states
state sovereign immunity
majorityOpinionBy William H. Rehnquist
overruledPrecedent Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co.
page 44
petitioner Seminole
surface form: Seminole Tribe of Florida
precedentStatus leading case on state sovereign immunity
relatedDoctrine Ex parte Young
surface form: Ex parte Young doctrine
reporter United States Reports
respondent Florida
surface form: State of Florida
shortName Seminole
surface form: Seminole Tribe
statuteInvolved 28 U.S.C. § 1362
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
subsequentCitationFrequency frequently cited in later sovereign immunity cases
volume 517
year 1996

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution keyCase Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia relatedCase Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
subject surface form: Chisholm v. Georgia (Supreme Court decision)
Hans v. Louisiana isCitedBy Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida fullName Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida self-link
Alden v. Maine relatedCase Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
United States sovereign immunity law keyCase Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
this entity surface form: Seminole Tribe v. Florida
Ex parte Young relatedCase Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
Rehnquist Court landmarkDecision Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
this entity surface form: Seminole Tribe v. Florida