Knox Hill Tenant Council v. Walter E. Washington, Individually and as Commissioner of the District of Columbia

The opinion for the court concludes (1) that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not stand as a bar to the exercise of jurisdiction in this case, and (2) that the complaint states a claim for which judicial relief may be granted. I respectfully dissent from this latter conclusion insofar as it upholds the attempt to obtain judicial review of the maintenance and repair policies and practices of NCHA.

As to the contention that the doctrine of sovereign immunity, as a blanket matter, precludes the exercise of jurisdiction in this case, it may be noted at the outset that the judicially…