Georgia failed to pay Robert Farquhar for his goods, which included jackets, blankets, various kinds of cloth, and other supplies. After Farquhar’s death, the executor of his estate, Alexander Chisholm, sued the state of Georgia to recover the debt.
Records of the Supreme Court, National Archives and Records Administration
List of items procured by state of Georgia from Robert Farquhar, October 1777
Congress Overrides the Supreme Court
Congress can counter Supreme Court rulings by proposing constitutional amendments. In Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), the court held that the Constitution permitted a lawsuit in federal court against a state by a citizen of another state. States with Revolutionary War debts did not want to be vulnerable to lawsuits from creditors. They protested, prompting Congress to pass a resolution to amend the Constitution to bar suits against states. The Eleventh Amendment was ratified by the states in 1795.
Congress has the power to propose constitutional amendments that limit the jurisdiction of federal courts. In 1795 Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment in response to a Supreme Court ruling concerning lawsuits against states.
Georgia failed to pay Robert Farquhar for his goods, which included jackets, blankets, various kinds of cloth, and other supplies. After Farquhar’s death, the executor of his estate, Alexander Chisholm, sued the state of Georgia to recover the debt.
Records of the Supreme Court, National Archives and Records Administration
