Opinion ID: 749433
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Eleventh Amendment Provisions

Text: The Eleventh Amendment provides: 17 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. 18 U.S. Const. amend. XI. Even though the clear language does not so provide, the Eleventh Amendment has been interpreted to bar a suit by a citizen against the citizen's own State in Federal Court. AMISUB (PSL), Inc. v. Colorado Dep't of Soc. Servs., 879 F.2d 789, 792 (10th Cir.1989) (citing Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1, 10, 10 S.Ct. 504, 505, 33 L.Ed. 842 (1890)). As such, the Eleventh Amendment bars a suit brought in federal court by the citizens of a state against the state or its agencies, Johns, 57 F.3d at 1552 (citing Pennhurst, 465 U.S. at 100, 104 S.Ct. at 907),  'whether the relief sought is legal or equitable.'  Id. (quoting Ramirez v. Oklahoma Dep't of Mental Health, 41 F.3d 584, 588 (10th Cir.1994) (quoting Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 276, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 2939, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986))). Utah, the state's governmental bodies, as arms of the state 1 (here, the Utah Department of Public Safety, the Utah State Fire Marshal Division, and the Utah Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board), and Utah's state officials sued in their official capacities would, therefore, normally be immune from suit in the federal courts. In re SDDS, Inc., 97 F.3d 1030, 1035 (8th Cir.1996); see Mascheroni, 28 F.3d at 1559. 19 In Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123, 155-56, 159, 28 S.Ct. 441, 451-52, 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908), the Supreme Court held that individuals may sue state officials in their official capacities for prospective injunctive relief, establishing an exception to the Eleventh Amendment immunity doctrine. See Green v. Mansour, 474 U.S. 64, 68, 106 S.Ct. 423, 425, 88 L.Ed.2d 371 (1985). Insofar as V-1 seeks prospective injunctive relief from Utah's alleged ongoing violation of the Commerce Clause, Utah state officials do not enjoy immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. See In re SDDS, 97 F.3d at 1035; Johns, 57 F.3d at 1555. 2 20