In Alden v. Maine Justice Souter, for the dissent, wrote that according to natural law a sovereign, like a state, could not be sued in its own court based on a right it created, "A state would be subject to a suit eo nomine in its own courts on a federal claim."
Justice Souter, writing for the dissent in Alden v. Maine, argued that a sovereign, like a state, could not be sued within its own court system based on a right it created. He stated that such a lawsuit would violate natural law and that states should be subject to federal jurisdiction.