Phillip Long, David Wood v. John Van De Kamp, Attorney General of the State of California

The facts are stated in the district court’s opinion which is reported at 772 F.Supp. 1141 (C.D.Cal.1991). The district court concluded that the Eleventh Amendment did not stand as a bar to its jurisdiction over this case. Id. at 1143 . However, under Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 , 28 S.Ct. 441 , 52 L.Ed. 714 (1908), there must be a connection between the official sued and enforcement of the allegedly unconstitutional statute, and there must be a threat of enforcement. We doubt that the general supervisory powers of the California Attorney General are sufficient to establish the connection with enforcement required by Ex parte Young. See Southern Pacific Transportation Co. v. Brown, 651 F.2d 613, 614 (9th Cir.1981) (as amended) (Oregon Attorney General’s power to direct and advise, which was not binding on district attorneys who had independent duty to enforce state law, was not sufficiently connected with enforcement). Moreover, there is no threat that Cal.Vehicle Code § 2805(a) will be enforced by the Attorney General. Absent a real likelihood that the state official will employ his supervisory powers against plaintiffs’ interests, the Eleventh Amendment bars federal court…