View source for Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox SCOTUS case
| Litigants = Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer
| ArgueDate = 
| ArgueDateA = April 20
| ArgueDateB = 21
| ArgueYear = 1976
| DecideDate = June 28
| DecideYear = 1976
| FullName = Fitzpatrick, et al. v. Bitzer, Chairman, State Employees' Retirement Commission, et al. (75-251) consolidated with Bitzer, Chairman, State Employees' Retirement Commission, et al. v. Matthews, et al. (75-283)
| USVol = 427
| USPage = 445
| ParallelCitations = 96 S. Ct. 2666; 49 [[L. Ed. 2d]] 614; 1976 [[U.S. LEXIS]] 160; 12 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. ([[Bloomberg BNA|BNA]]) 1586; 12 Empl. Prac. Dec. ([[CCH (company)|CCH]]) ¶ 10,999; 1 Employee Benefits Cas. ([[Bloomberg BNA|BNA]]) 1040
| Docket = 
| OralArgument = 
| OralReargument = 
| OpinionAnnouncement = 
| Prior = Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
| Subsequent = 
| Holding = The [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] gives Congress the power to override a State's [[Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eleventh Amendment]] sovereign immunity for the purpose of enforcing civil rights on the States.
| Majority = Rehnquist
| JoinMajority = Burger, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell
| Concurrence = Brennan (in judgment)
| JoinConcurrence = 
| Concurrence2 = Stevens (in judgment)
| JoinConcurrence2 = 
| Concurrence/Dissent = 
| JoinConcurrence/Dissent = 
| Dissent = 
| JoinDissent = 
| Dissent2 = 
| JoinDissent2 = 
| LawsApplied = [[Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|U.S. Const. amends. XI]], [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|XIV]]
}}
'''''Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer''''', 427 U.S. 445 (1976), was a [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] decision that determined that the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] has the power to [[abrogation doctrine|abrogate]] the [[Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eleventh Amendment]] [[sovereign immunity]] of the [[U.S. state|states]], if this is done pursuant to its [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]] power to enforce upon the states the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment.{{ref|citation}}

==Background==
In 1972, Congress amended [[Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]]<ref>42 U.S.C. § 2000e, Chapter 21, Subchapter VI</ref> to allow individuals to sue state governments for [[money damages]] for [[discrimination]] based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The [[plaintiff]]s, a group of male [[retiree]]s, sued the State of [[Connecticut]] for sex discrimination against them in its retirement policies. Connecticut invoked its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, and both the District Court and the Court of Appeals allowed only [[injunction|injunctive]] relief; they denied monetary recovery, although the Court of Appeals permitted [[attorney's fees]]. Both of those courts pointed to ''[[Edelman v. Jordan]]'',<ref>''[[Edelman v. Jordan]]'', {{ussc|415|651|1974|el=no}}</ref> a US Supreme Court case holding that the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a [[United States federal courts|federal court]] from ordering a state to pay money to an individual who is wronged by the state. The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court.

==Issue==
Can Congress abrogate state sovereign immunity under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment?

==Decision==
The Court, in an opinion by [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Justice]] [[William Rehnquist]], distinguished previous cases in which attempts by individuals to sue the states for money damages (or the equivalent), including ''Edelman v. Jordan'', had failed because the plaintiffs had not identified an ''express provision'' by Congress that permitted such lawsuits. The Court ruled that Congress has the power, under the Fourteenth Amendment, to abrogate sovereign immunity of states, as it was enacted specifically to limit the power of the states with the purpose of enforcing civil rights guarantees against them.

==See also==
* [[List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 427]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{note|citation}} {{caselaw source
 | case=''Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer'', {{ussc|427|445|1976|el=no}}
 | courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/109520/fitzpatrick-v-bitzer/
 | findlaw=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/427/445.html
 | googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10692341911558785055
 | justia=http://supreme.justia.com/us/427/445/case.html
 | loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep427/usrep427445/usrep427445.pdf
}}

{{US11thAmendment}}

[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases]]
[[Category:United States Eleventh Amendment case law]]
[[Category:United States Fourteenth Amendment, section five case law]]
[[Category:1976 in United States case law]]
[[Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court]]
[[Category:States' rights]]