In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in United States v. Miller that bankruptcy law only partially abrogates sovereign immunity, meaning governments can dodge some creditor claims even in bankruptcy court. The case showed how narrowly courts read Congress's power to strip immunity—even when a law explicitly waives it.
States normally can't be sued without their permission, a protection called sovereign immunity. But Congress can strip that protection when it enforces the 14th Amendment, forcing states to defend themselves in federal court for civil rights violations. The catch is that Congress must make its intention "unmistakably clear" in the law's text. Congress can't override state immunity using its regular Article I powers—only when enforcing amendments that came after the 11th Amendment, mainly the 14th. Courts won't infer congressional intent to abrogate, so if the law doesn't explicitly say it, states keep their immunity and you can't sue them.