Conservative SCOTUS majority overturns 40-year-old precedent in sovereign immunity case

Make sure to let us know what you think... we now have comments turned ON below the article!

With the makeup of the Supreme Court now leaning toward the right with a 5-4 conservative majority, it was predicted that the court would be more likely to issue rulings that are in line with the plain text of the U.S. Constitution.

That appears to be true with regard to the court’s recent 5-4 ruling in the case of Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, which overturned a prior decision from 40 years ago that the current court held was inconsistent with the principle of states’ sovereign immunity.

Overturning precedent

The high court ruled on Monday that a state could not be sued by a private party in a different state unless it had first consented to be sued.

That decision reversed a 1979 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Nevada v. Hall, which declared that the Constitution offered no protection to individual states from private lawsuits originating in other states.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision. The four liberal justices were led in their dissenting opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer.

The liberal justices felt that prior court precedent should have been left alone and criticized the conservatives for overturning of a past ruling by a slim 5-4 majority, revealing their deeper concern that other longstanding precedents could be overturned in the future by a similarly narrow margin.

Thomas’ majority opinion

In the majority opinion, Thomas wrote that the 1979 ruling “misreads the historical record and misapprehends the ‘implicit ordering of relationships within the federal system necessary to make the Constitution a workable governing charter and to give each provision within that document the full effect intended by the Framers.'”

With regard to the precedent set in that case, Thomas wrote that it was “irreconcilable with our constitutional structure and with the historical evidence” which showed that states did enjoy sovereign immunity from private lawsuits

Broader implications?

The case at the heart of the court’s decision involved a dispute between a microchip inventor named Gilbert Hyatt who lived in Nevada and sued the California Franchise Tax Board in 1992.

Hyatt’s suit demanded that the tax agency compensate him for damages resulting from an audit it conducted on suspicion that Hyatt had moved from California to Nevada in order to avoid paying the state’s personal income tax. Hyatt alleged that the board shared personal information about him with business associates and unconstitutionally invaded his privacy.

This was actually the third time this particular case found its way to the Supreme Court, but it will almost assuredly be the last.

Now that the court has overturned its own prior ruling and found that Hyatt had no right to sue California from a Nevada courtroom absent its consent, liberal activists are left worrying about which other precedents may be vulnerable under fresh review.

1,958 Responses

  1. You’re so interesting! I don’t believe I have read through a single thing like that before. So nice to discover somebody with some unique thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is required on the web, someone with some originality!

  2. I used to be very happy to find this internet-site.I needed to thanks on your time for this excellent read!! I undoubtedly enjoying every little little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.

  3. Appreciating the dedication you put into your website and in depth information you offer. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.|

  4. Howdy, I think your website might be having browser compatibility problems. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Aside from that, fantastic site!

  5. I blog frequently and I truly appreciate your content. The article has really peaked my interest. I will take a note of your site and keep checking for new details about once per week. I opted in for your RSS feed as well.

  6. Greetings from Colorado! I’m bored to tears at do the job consequently I decided to browse your web page on my iphone during lunch time break. I actually like the know-how you present here and can’t wait around to take a search when I get home. I’m amazed at how swift your site loaded on my phone .. I’m not also using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, fantastic blog!

  7. Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any tips? Thanks a lot!|

  8. I am really enjoying the theme/design of your site. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility problems? A few of my blog visitors have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any suggestions to help fix this problem?

  9. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Great work!|

  10. Next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this particular one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, but I actually thought you would probably have something helpful to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.

  11. Hello there! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when browsing from my apple iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to correct this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share. Appreciate it!

  12. We do not know if it’s just me personally or if perhaps everyone else experiencing complications with your blog. It looks as though some of the text on your articles are operating off the screen. Can an individual else please provide responses and let me understand if this is taking place to them as well? This may be a difficulty with my web browser because I’ve had this happen before. Thanks a lot

  13. After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a means you can remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!|

  14. Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any recommendations for rookie blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.

  15. Spot on with this write-up, I honestly feel this amazing site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read through more, thanks for the info!|

  16. The Tampa Notary Co. is a Local Notary Services in Tampa, FL that provides same-day notary, rush notary, and a 24-hour notary public services in Florida. We have trusted commissioned notary publics’ on staff ready to help get business and personal documents notarized quickly and efficiently. Our local notaries are mobile and will travel straight to your location to perform services notary services that the business or person is needing. Usually within the hour from the time of your notice.

  17. You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

  18. Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It actually was once a entertainment account it. Look complicated to more brought agreeable from you! By the way, how can we keep in touch?

  19. I do consider all the concepts you’ve offered in your post. They’re really convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too short for starters. May you please prolong them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.|

  20. The Tampa Notary Co. is a Local Notary Services in Tampa, FL that provides same-day notary, rush notary, and a 24-hour notary public services in Florida. We have trusted commissioned notary publics’ on staff ready to help get business and personal documents notarized quickly and efficiently. Our local notaries are mobile and will travel straight to your location to perform services notary services that the business or person is needing. Usually within the hour from the time of your notice.

  21. This is the perfect webpage for everyone who hopes to understand this topic. You realize so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a subject that’s been written about for a long time. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful!

  22. I really wanted to develop a small note in order to say thanks to you for these unique hints you are giving on this site. My long internet look up has at the end of the day been paid with useful facts and strategies to write about with my guests. I would say that we readers are really lucky to be in a decent network with many brilliant professionals with helpful ideas. I feel pretty blessed to have used your entire webpage and look forward to some more brilliant minutes reading here. Thank you again for all the details.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Popular