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Primary sourceDocument1793

Chisholm v. Georgia

John Jay and other justices of the U.S. Supreme Court · 1793

The Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice John Jay held that a state could be sued by a citizen of another state.

Jay wrote this opinion as Chief Justice, making it a direct record of his judicial reasoning.

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About this source

What it is

This is the 1793 Supreme Court opinion in Chisholm v. Georgia, written by Chief Justice John Jay and other justices and held at the U.S. National Archives.

The case asked whether a state could be sued by a citizen of another state, and Jay's opinion argued that it could.

Why it matters

This was the most important case of the Jay Court, and its ruling was controversial enough that it provoked the Eleventh Amendment, which limited citizens' ability to sue states. It shows Jay working out, early in the nation's history, how power should be balanced between states and the federal government.

Look closer

  • Why might states have objected strongly to being sued by citizens of other states?
  • What does the fact that an amendment was needed to overturn this ruling tell you about its impact?
  • How does Jay structure his argument into separate questions?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of John Jay on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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