Chisholm v. Georgia
| Chisholm v. Georgia | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Argued February 5, 1793 Decided February 18, 1793 |
|
| Full case name | Alexander Chisholm, Executors v. Georgia |
| Citations | 2 U.S. 419 (more)
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 and granted federal courts the affirmative power to hear disputes between private citizens and States. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Seriatim opinion | Cushing |
| Seriatim opinion | Blair |
| Seriatim opinion | Wilson |
| Seriatim opinion | Jay |
| Dissent | 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Superseded by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. 419 (1793), is considered the first United States Supreme Court case of significance and impact. Given its date, there was little available legal precedent (particularly in American law). It was superseded in 1795 by the Eleventh Amendment.
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 to him for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. United States Attorney General Edmund Randolph argued the case for the plaintiff before the court. The defendant, Georgia, refused to appear, claiming that, as a sovereign state, it could not be sued without granting its consent to the suit.
In a four to one decision, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, with Chief Justice John Jay and associate justices John Blair, James Wilson, and William Cushing constituting the majority; only Justice Iredell dissented. (At that time, there was no opinion of the court or majority opinion; the justices delivered their opinions seriatim, that is, individually, and in ascending order of seniority.) The court ruled 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.
...
Wikipedia