Ernst v. Rising

Just a few months ago, a panel of this Court recognized that in assessing whether an entity enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity, “the most important factor is ‘will a State pay if the defendant loses?’ ” Cash v. Hamilton County Dep’t of Adult Probation, 388 F.3d 539, 545 (6th Cir.2005) (quoting Brotherton v. Cleveland, 173 F.3d 552, 560 (6th Cir.1999)). The majority rests its finding of immunity on unenforceable provisions of the Michigan Constitution and various state statutes that appear to require the State to provide appropriate funding for the Judges Retirement System (“JRS”); however, in…