include the power to abrogate state sovereign immunity. The Court stated early bankruptcy legislation also supported its interpretation of the Bankruptcy Clause. It noted that in 1800, when concerns for state sovereign immunity ran fervent, Congress, with no recorded objection, gave federal courts power to release debtors from state prison through the writ of habeas corpus. In coming to its conclusion, the Court declined to follow dicta in Seminole Tribe v. Florida suggesting a contrary result. Dissent Justice Thomas, writing for himself and three other justices, argued the historical record indicated states did not give up their sovereign immunity under the Bankruptcy Clause. The dissenters would have followed the view that nothing in Article I abrogates state sovereign immunity. References External links United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court United States Eleventh Amendment case law United States bankruptcy case law Legal history of Virginia 2006 in United States case law 2006 in Virginia Virginia Community College System