18. Is the court likely to dismiss the action?

The Eleventh Amendment bars any federal suit «against any one of the states by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.» In other words, the Eleventh Amendment is a jurisdictional bar that modifies the judicial power by prohibiting a federal court from hearing a private party's or foreign government's claims against a state government. See Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890). The Eleventh Amendment essentially bars only suits for damages, however. It does not bar most suits for injunctions.

Under the «spending power,» Congress may «provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States. . .» Congress can use its spending power to «regulate» areas, even where it otherwise has no power to regulate that area, by requiring entities that accept government money to act in a certain manner. Conditions on the grant of money to state or local governments may be conditional (with «strings attached»), but they must: (i) be clearly stated; (ii) relate to the purpose of the program; and (iii) not be unduly coercive. Moreover, conditions may not require states to engage in unconstitutional activity.

There is no independent congressional power to pursue the «general welfare.» The only relevance of general welfare is that Congress, when it taxes and spends, must be pursuing the general welfare (a requirement that has very little independent significance today).

B is correct. The Eleventh Amendment modifies judicial power by prohibiting a federal court from hearing a private party or foreign government's claims against a state government. The Eleventh Amendment does not bar actions by the United States government. Moreover, the Eleventh Amendment typically only bars suits for damages, not suits involving injunctive relief. Therefore, the court will not dismiss the action. See Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890).

A is incorrect. This is a misstatement of the law. Congress cannot place a condition on the receipt of federal funds without first addressing several factors: (i) the spending has to serve the general welfare; (ii) the condition placed on the state must be unambiguous or clearly stated; (iii) the condition has to relate to the particular federal program; (iv) unconstitutional action cannot be a contingency of receipt of the funds; and (v) the amount in question cannot be so great that it can be considered coercive to the state's acceptance of the condition.

C is incorrect. This is also a misstatement of the law. The Eleventh Amendment does not bar all actions against a state in federal court. It states that a federal court may not hear a case brought by a private party or foreign government against a state. Actions by the United States government or other state governments are not barred.

D is incorrect. This is another misstatement of the law. The protection of child welfare is not exclusively reserved for the states.