Paul D. Lapides v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, et al.

Decided May 13, 2002. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 01-298 · 535 U.S. 613 (2002) · Cited 1,425 times

Holding

A State waives its Eleventh Amendment immunity when it removes a case from state court to federal court.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Wisconsin Department of Corrections v. Schacht · 524 U.S. 381 (1998)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• Gardner v. New Jersey · 329 U.S. 565 (1947)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Will v. Michigan Department of State Police · 491 U.S. 58 (1989)
• Mitchell v. Forsyth · 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Department of Treasury · 323 U.S. 459 (1945)
• Moor v. County of Alameda · 411 U.S. 693 (1973)
• Regents of University of California v. Doe · 519 U.S. 425 (1997)
• Oklahoma Tax Comm'n v. Citizen Band of Potawatomi Tribe of Okla. · 498 U.S. 505 (1991)
• Employees of Department of Public Health v. Department of Public Health · 411 U.S. 279 (1973)
• Hanover Star Milling Co. v. Metcalf · 240 U.S. 403 (1916)
• United States v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. · 309 U.S. 506 (1940)
• United States v. Shaw · 309 U.S. 495 (1940)
• Petty v. Tennessee-Missouri Bridge Commission · 359 U.S. 275 (1959)
• Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co. v. Martin · 178 U.S. 245 (1900)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Rosales-Mireles v. United States · 585 U.S. 129 (2018)
• PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey · 594 U.S. 482 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).