Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
2-7-2022
Abstract
Amici curiae, listed in the Appendix, are professors of constitutional law and of the law of federal and state courts. Amici hold varying views on state sovereign immunity and the interpretation of the Eleventh Amendment. Amici join in this brief because they agree that the Court’s jurisprudence on these issues reflects inherent tensions that justify consideration of a new approach. Amici propose an approach to sovereign immunity that is grounded in both constitutional text and broader common law principles, and that, in amici’s view, is faithful to the original constitutional design and the text and purpose of the Eleventh Amendment. This approach builds on much of this Court’s jurisprudence and its concerns about state interests, while also respecting the critical role of Congress in setting forth nationally uniform laws that emanate from a democratically elected body exercising powers granted in the Constitution. Amici do not believe that this Court needs to revisit its prior decisions to resolve this case, but do believe that the Court should not extend its prior recognitions of immunity in a manner that moves further afield from constitutional text, structure, and history. The Court should instead build on its more recent decisions adopting a nuanced approach to sovereign immunity— and, in light of that approach, sustain the federal statute at issue here.<\p>
Recommended Citation
Caminker, Evan H., "Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety: Brief of Scholars of Constitutional Law and the Law of Federal and State Courts as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner" (2022). Appellate Briefs. 73.
https://repository.law.umich.edu/briefs/73
Comments
Amicus: Alexander, Professor Janet; Caminker, Professor Evan; Hershkoff, Professor Helen; LaCroix, Professor Alison L.; Purcell, Professor Edward A. Jr.; Resnik, Professor Judith; Robel, Professor Lauren; Schwartz, Professor Joanna; Tribe, Professor Laurence H.; Vladeck, Professor Stephen I.