31:
834:
260:, and could not serve in the same position. He asked the Department for a similar position within the Highway Patrol but was denied any accommodation. Torres opted to resign and later sued the Department under USERRA. The Department argued that the state could not be sued under a federal law under the principle of
284:
states, in coming together to form a union, agreed to sacrifice their sovereign immunity for the good of the common defense." Breyer quoted examples from 1872 onward that demonstrate that "Congress may legislate at the expense of traditional state sovereignty to raise and support the Armed Forces."
283:
wrote the majority opinion, which held that while states have sovereign immunity, it does not extend to areas of the nation's defense, and thus the state could be held liable for failing to follow USERRA, allowing Torres' lawsuit to proceed. Breyer wrote "Text, history and precedent show that the
240:
was passed to assure that personnel in the U.S. military would be able to return to work at their former employer after deployment in the field. Should the person not be able to return to work in the same position, the employer must find a position "that provides similar status and pay". USERRA
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dissented. Thomas stated that "the 'history, practice, precedent and the structure of the
Constitution' all demonstrate that states did not surrender their sovereign immunity in their own courts when Congress legislates pursuant to one of its war power". Thomas referred to the decision in
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Justice Kagan wrote a concurrence that stated that in regards to state sovereign immunity, "our sovereign immunity decisions have not followed a straight line", though agreed that forgoing sovereign immunity was necessary for supporting the war powers of the nation.
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in that "the powers delegated to
Congress under Article I of the United States Constitution do not include the power to subject nonconsenting States to private suits for damages in state courts".
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228:. In a 5–4 decision issued in June 2022, the Court ruled that state sovereign immunity does not prevent states from being sued under federal law related to the nation's defense.
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applies to all employers within the United States. The law was passed to prevent employers from discriminating based on military service.
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On June 29, 2022, the court reversed the Texas court of appeals in a 5–4 vote and remanded the case for further review. Justice
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The majority opinion in this case was the last opinion written by
Justice Breyer before his retirement on June 30.
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264:. Both a Texas trial court and court of appeals agreed with the state's position, dismissing Torres' suit. The
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Financial
Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc.
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The
Supreme Court granted certiorari in December 2021, and heard oral arguments on March 29, 2022.
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425:"Divided court allows veteran to sue state-agency employer for violating his federal rights"
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331:"Supreme Court to hear Army reservist's discrimination claim involving burn pit exposure"
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which found that private citizens could not sue states under federal law, quoting
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252:, when he was called to deploy in Iraq in 2007 as part of his enlistment in the
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Le Roy Torres, the petitioner in the case, had been working as a trooper in the
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632:
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Florida
Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank
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College
Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board
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Florida
Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank
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479:
394:"Supreme Court, in Case on Veteran Hurt by Burn Pits, Debates War Powers"
256:. When he returned, he had suffered lung damage from smoke inhalation at
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91:
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Federal
Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority
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Uniformed
Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994
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Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994
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Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994
30:
535:
366:"Supreme Court Sides With Veteran Hurt by Burn Pits in Iraq"
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Lapides v. Board of Regents of University System of Georgia
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County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State
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Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett
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United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court
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Breyer, joined by Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh
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Northern Insurance Co. of New York v. Chatham County
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Welch v. Texas Dept. of Highways and Public Transp.
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54:Le Roy Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
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641:Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
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705:Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt III
918:Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs
731:Parden v. Terminal R. Co. of Ala. Docks Dept.
697:Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt II
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418:
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827:Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
456:Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
213:Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
24:Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
803:Central Virginia Community College v. Katz
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984:United States Eleventh Amendment case law
739:Employees v. Missouri Public Health Dept.
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193:Thomas, joined by Alito, Gorsuch, Barrett
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942:Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland
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665:Blatchford v. Native Village of Noatak
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673:Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho
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18:2022 United States Supreme Court case
763:Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
747:Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon
329:Barnes, Robert (December 15, 2021).
819:PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey
561:Osborn v. Bank of the United States
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36:Supreme Court of the United States
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974:United States Supreme Court cases
894:Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents
498:Supreme Court (preliminary print)
466:580 (2022) is available from:
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423:Sherry, Suzzana (June 29, 2022).
250:Texas Department of Public Safety
537:United States Eleventh Amendment
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601:Murray v. Wilson Distilling Co.
392:Liptak, Adam (March 29, 2022).
969:2022 in United States case law
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364:Liptak, Adam (June 29, 2022).
1:
755:Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co.
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216:, 597 U.S. 580 (2022), was a
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218:United States Supreme Court
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480:Oyez (oral argument audio)
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878:City of Boerne v. Flores
846:Under the 14th Amendment
262:state sovereign immunity
226:state sovereign immunity
248:, a division under the
266:Supreme Court of Texas
220:case dealing with the
862:Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer
45:Decided June 29, 2022
43:Argued March 29, 2022
854:Katzenbach v. Morgan
246:Texas Highway Patrol
336:The Washington Post
399:The New York Times
371:The New York Times
113:Associate Justices
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926:Tennessee v. Lane
617:Scheuer v. Rhodes
609:Edelman v. Jordan
577:Hans v. Louisiana
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963:Categories
716:Abrogation
430:SCOTUSBlog
313:References
232:Background
60:Docket no.
258:burn pits
70:Citations
539:case law
454:Text of
436:June 30,
405:June 30,
377:June 30,
342:June 30,
291:Justice
174:Majority
88:Argument
545:General
190:Dissent
945:(2012)
937:(2006)
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881:(1997)
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865:(1976)
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814:(2020)
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