is the same in either case. He also strongly contended that Illinois had waived its immunity by entering the federal program since the Supreme Court had recently found other states to have waived immunity by joining similar programs. Therefore, Douglas reasoned that Illinois had to have been aware of the possibility that entering the program would waive its own immunity, and its decision to participate in light of that danger showed a willingness to be held liable. Dissent of Justice Marshall Justice Marshall argued that 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which permits parties to sue state actors to recover for civil rights violations, also abrogated the immunity of the states and permitted a recovery from the state treasury if the rights of a citizen were violated by an official of the state. Dissent of Justice Brennan Justice Brennan's opinion did not reach any of the questions on the limitations of sovereign immunity or waiver thereof that were considered by both the Court and the other dissents. Instead, Brennan argued that the Eleventh Amendment does not immunize states from being sued by their citizens at all. He stated there is no question of what the purported immunity covers or whether it can be waived it does not exist. He noted that the Eleventh Amendment's language bars only suits against a state by citizens of other states. That leaves common law sovereign immunity, which he asserted to have been surrendered by the states when they agreed to join into the United States. See also List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 415 References External links United States Supreme Court decisions that overrule a prior Supreme Court decision United States Supreme Court cases United States Eleventh Amendment case law 1974 in United States case law United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court