Which Amendment states that an individual cannot sue a state in a federal court?

The correct answer is based on the language and intent of the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment asserts the principle of sovereign immunity, which essentially means that states cannot be sued in federal court by citizens of another state or by citizens or subjects of a foreign state. This was enacted as a response to concerns about the ability of individuals to bring lawsuits against states in federal judiciary contexts.

The Eleventh Amendment was adopted in 1795 following the Supreme Court case Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), which allowed individuals to sue states. This amendment effectively reversed that decision and emphasized the states' sovereign rights. The focus here is on the protection of state sovereignty and limiting the jurisdiction of federal courts in cases involving state governance.

Other amendments listed pertain to different issues. The Twelfth Amendment deals with the electoral process for the President and Vice President, the Thirteenth Amendment addresses the abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude, and the Fourteenth Amendment provides for equal protection under the law and addresses citizenship rights, but none of these directly relate to the ability to sue states in federal courts. Therefore, the Eleventh Amendment is the specific affirmative statement that individuals cannot sue a state in a federal court.