>Obama’s Jobs Bill looks to End State Sovereignty
Ron DuBois
The Eleventh Amendment of the US Constitution reads, “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.” In other words, the Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court, cannot intervene or interfere with, any lawsuit brought against a State by a citizen of any State, or a citizen of another country. Such a suit must be resolved by the State’s Courts.
As part of Obama’s “Jobs Bill”, there is a section, described in the forwarded article, that negates the 11th Amendment protection currently enjoyed by the States. Now , I’m not sure the Bill, if passed and signed by Obama into law, can legally supercede the Constitution. My understanding of the Constitution is that it would take a Constitutional Amendment to do this. Legality notwithstanding, if the Bill becomes law, you can be sure the Administration will make every attempt to enforce it. Without my going into explanatory detail, I’m sure you understand that once a State takes money under the Jobs Bill, the Federal Courts will assume a power over the States that the Constitution specifically denied.