Opinion ID: 436310
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Pennhurst II

Text: 39 The Supreme Court's recent opinion in Pennhurst II, supra, also contains language that, if interpreted literally, would compel a holding that Dr. Demery's claim is barred by the eleventh amendment. However, read in context, it is clear that that language too is consistent with our holding. 8 40 In Pennhurst II, the Court read Edelman v. Jordan, supra, as holding that the eleventh amendment bars some actions that are not suits against states. See Pennhurst II, 104 S.Ct. at 909. Later in the opinion, the Court described the suits that, as it interpreted Edelman, are barred from federal court by the eleventh amendment even though they are not suits against the state: Under Edelman v. Jordan, supra, a suit against state officials for retroactive monetary relief, whether based on federal or state law, must be brought in state court. Pennhurst II, 104 S.Ct. at 920. Under that test, if the language were read literally, Dr. Demery's claim would be barred by the eleventh amendment even though it is not a claim against California. The problem is that, if the Pennhurst II language were read so broadly, the eleventh amendment would bar all section 1983 damage suits from the federal courts, for all such suits are against state officers and are for retroactive monetary relief. 41 If that had been the intended holding in Pennhurst II, Scheuer v. Rhodes, supra, would in effect have been overruled and section 1983 would in effect have been rendered ineffective. We are very reluctant to read Pennhurst II as having accomplished so significant a reversal in such an important area of our jurisprudence without having discussed either Scheuer v. Rhodes or section 1983. Because an interpretation of the Pennhurst II language that is consistent with both Scheuer v. Rhodes and decades of section 1983 jurisprudence is available, we decline to interpret Pennhurst II as having effectuated such a radical change in the established law of civil rights. 42 In Pennhurst II, the Court first acknowledged that [w]hen a suit is brought only against state officials, a question arises as to whether that suit is a suit against the State itself. 104 S.Ct. at 908. Generally, when a state official is sued in his official capacity the suit is one against the state and therefore barred by the eleventh amendment. As the Court recognized in Pennhurst II, however, there is an important exception to this general rule: since Ex parte Young was decided, it has been established that a suit challenging the constitutionality of a state official's action is not one against the State. Pennhurst II, 104 S.Ct. at 909. 43 As we have already noted, the plaintiffs in Edelman were suing the state officials in their official capacities. Because they were challenging the constitutionality of the state officials' action, their case was, under the theory of Ex parte Young, not against the state. The Court held, however, that the eleventh amendment nevertheless barred the suit because it was a suit for retroactive monetary relief. We think it clear from the Edelman opinion that the Supreme Court held simply that the Ex parte Young exception does not extend to suits for retroactive monetary relief; that is, suits seeking retroactive monetary relief from the state are barred by the eleventh amendment even if the claim is a constitutional one. 44 We do not think that Edelman can plausibly be read to change the general rule that suits seeking damages from state officials in their individual capacities are not barred by the eleventh amendment. In Edelman, the Court first discussed the general rules regarding when a suit against a state officer is a suit against the state. After determining that the suit was one against the state under those general rules, the Court proceeded to determine whether the federal court nevertheless had jurisdiction under the Ex parte Young rule. It concluded that the suit was barred by the eleventh amendment because, unlike the claim in Ex parte Young, it was a suit for retroactive monetary relief as opposed to prospective injunctive relief. The Court's methodology in Edelman makes it clear that the Court was only determining the limits of the Ex parte Young exception. Had that not been its intention, there would have been no reason for it first to determine whether the suit was one against the state under the general rule. 45 Because such a reading better comports with the Court's opinion in Edelman, and because there is no indication in Pennhurst II that the Court intended to overrule Scheuer v. Rhodes or render section 1983 ineffective, we read the Court's statement in Pennhurst II that [u]nder Edelman v. Jordan ... a suit against state officials for retroactive monetary relief ... must be brought in state court, 104 S.Ct. at 920, as limited to suits against state officials that are actually suits against the state itself under the general rules we discussed earlier. Neither Edelman nor Pennhurst II changes the well-settled rule that the eleventh amendment does not bar suits seeking damages for violation of federal law from state officials personally. 9 46 As we noted above, this suit is, under the general rules, a suit against Rowland and Cosentino in their individual capacities. The Pennhurst II language is therefore inapposite. Like all section 1983 suits seeking damages from state officials personally, this case is not barred from the federal courts by the eleventh amendment. 10