Shippen v. United States

The majority, it seems to me, decides this case by simply fastening a label of "declaratory judgment” on the second counterclaim. Since United States v. King, 395 U. S. 1 (1969), speaks ill of declaratory judgments when sought by plaintiffs against the sovereign, it must follow, says the majority, that we cannot entertain a "declaratory judgment” when sought by the Government. Yet the sovereign is immune from suit save its consent, e.g., United States v. *144Sherwood, 312 U. S. 584, 586 (1941), and even a cursory reading discloses that proposition to be the sine qua non of the King decision.…