Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak

Alaska Native villages brought suit against Edgar Blatchford, in his capacity as the Commissioner of Alaska's Department of Community and Regional Affairs, seeking an order requiring payment to them of money allegedly owed under a state revenue-sharing statute. The federal District Court dismissed the suit as violating the Eleventh Amendment. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, first on the ground that 28 U.S.C. § 1362 constituted a congressional abrogation of Eleventh Amendment immunity, and then, upon reconsideration, on the ground that Alaska had no immunity against suits by Native tribes. ==Opinion of the court==

The Supreme Court issued an opinion on June 24, 1991. == Criticism ==

Blatchford was out of step with most prior Eleventh Amendment jurisprudence, which said sovereign immunity under the Amendment only applied to situations mentioned directly in its text. == References ==