Landor v. Louisiana Dept of Corrections and Public Safety · ¶110

The majority resorts finally to abstraction, retorting that the Necessary and Proper Clause does not permit Congress to “undermine the structure of [the federal] government established by the Constitution” or “violat[e] the principle of state sovereignty.” Ante, at 17 (alterations in original; internal quotation marks omitted). I do not contest these assertions. It is the Court’s application of them here that is baffling, since exposing state officials to damages liability does nothing so dramatic. That state officials might be vulnerable to federally imposed money judgments for unlawful conduct is a common feature of our federal system. See, e.g., 42 U. S. C. §1983. RLUIPA’s imposition of damages liability for state officials comes as no surprise to States or their agents and by no means offends state sovereignty. The State chose to accept the funds with full knowledge of RLUIPA’s…

slip opinion, revised 6/28/26
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