Sovereign Immunity (Chicago Citation)

It has been a tradition in English law that the Sovereign can do no wrong and therefore had immunity against any and all laws within the kingdom. In fact, this was a way to protect the Monarch from being held to the same legal standard as everyone else. When the United States began, the framers of the Constitution made certain to include the concept of "sovereign immunity" on the "practical ground that there can be no legal right against the authority that makes the law on which the right depends." ("Sovereign Immunity: 205 U.S. 349, 353") But they also included the right of the government to waive its sovereign immunity in certain cases. There is a distinct contradiction in a democratic government that does not allow itself to be subject to civil legal action brought about by the same people that the government claims to represent. However, while sovereign immunity...

(Sisk 2006, 74) Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Marshall were all supporters of the concept as they felt it maintained the balance of powers between the branches of government. If the federal government was subject to lawsuits from individual citizens, then both the Executive and Legislative branches of government would be subject to constant lawsuits brought about in response to any legislation, or policy, put into effect. In such circumstances, the Judicial branch of government would then have unprecedented power over the actions of the other two branches by being able to decide the legitimacy of…