Duhne v. New Jersey

Background

A citizen of New Jersey asked permission to file an original suit in the Supreme Court asking the Court to stop federal and state officials from enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, federal laws, or state statutes on the ground that the Amendment was void. The named defendants included the U.S. Attorney General, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the United States District Attorney for New Jersey, and the State of New Jersey. The defendants denied the Court had authority to hear a citizen’s suit against his own State, making jurisdiction the key question.

Reasoning

The Court reviewed its rules about original jurisdiction and cited prior decisions such as Hans v. Louisiana and related cases. It explained that the Constitution does not allow federal courts to hear a suit by a citizen against his own State without the State’s consent. The Court rejected the idea that the clause in Article III that distributes jurisdiction creates new power to subject a State to suit; that clause only distributes existing federal jurisdiction. Because no federal judicial power supports such a suit, the Court concluded it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the bill.

Real world impact

The Court denied permission to file the original bill and discharged the rule, so the citizen’s request to enjoin enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment was not decided on the merits. This prevents that particular constitutional challenge from proceeding in the Supreme Court against the State without its consent and leaves any challenge to be brought in a court with proper authority or by different procedural means.