Ex Parte Young

U.S. Case Law

1. 209 U.S. 123 (1908), determined that a federal court may enjoin a state from enforcing a law the constitutionality of which has been challenged. The particular law in this case was a railroad rate reduction statute in Minnesota that had been challenged by railroad company shareholders on the ground that it deprived them of their property without due process of law. The shareholders applied in a federal district court for an injunction, which was granted but subsequently ignored by state authorities. The Supreme Court found for the shareholders and the district court, holding that the right to enjoin did not violate Eleventh Amendment restrictions on the power of federal courts to hear suits against states.