Dellmuth v. Muth/Dissent Stevens

Justice STEVENS, dissenting.

While I join Justice BRENNAN's dissent, I adhere to my view that a "statute cannot amend the Constitution." Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co., 491 U.S. 1, 24, 109 S.Ct. 2273, 2286, 105 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989) (concurring opinion). Because this case deals with the judicially created doctrine of sovereign immunity rather than the real Eleventh Amendment's limitation on federal judicial power, the congressional decision to confer jurisdiction on the federal courts must prevail.