Too Plain to Be Misunderstood: Sovereign Immunity Under the Arkansas Constitution

Authors

Robert C. Dalby, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Keywords

governmental liability, governmental accountability, constitutional amendment

Abstract

The framers of the constitution certainly knew that instances of hardship would result from the prohibition of suits against the State, but they nevertheless elected to write that immunity into the constitution. The language is too plain to be misunderstood, and it is our duty to give effect to it. Given the fluid nature of the law, time is often the greatest enemy of clarity in court precedent. From law students to experienced judges, anyone who has tried to research the doctrine of sovereign immunity under the Arkansas Constitution has surely struggled with that enemy as they sift through the years of convoluted and inconsistent cases interpreting the scope of the State’s protection from suit. This comment attempts to abate the Arkansas lawyer’s burden in understanding the language that is ostensibly impossible to misunderstand.

Recommended Citation

Robert C. Dalby, Too Plain to Be Misunderstood: Sovereign Immunity Under the Arkansas Constitution, 71 Ark. L. Rev. 761 (2019).
Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/alr/vol71/iss3/5