What is sovereign immunity?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In several recent lawsuits against Texas, attorneys for the state argued for dismissal due to "sovereign immunity." But what does that mean for Texans?

The legal doctrine holds that a sovereign can't be sued without its consent.

It originated in England, where it was "based on the idea that the King could do no wrong," according to Cornell Law School. Since the U.S. doesn't have a monarch, it applies to the federal and state governments.

But as our laws evolved over nearly 250 years, exceptions to sovereign immunity have been carved out by legislatures and legal precedence.

The University of Texas System's Office of General Counsel says on its website that the Texas Tort Claims Act provides exceptions to the immunity for lawsuits over "property damage, personal injury, and death proximately caused by the wrongful act or omission or the negligence of an employee acting within the scope of his or her employment."

"The State of Texas is immune from liability and from suit with respect to most causes of action against it under the doctrine of sovereign immunity," the office said. "This means that the State of Texas cannot be sued in its own courts without its legislature’s consent."

The U.S. has a federal version of that act, the Federal Tort Claims Act.

For tort claims, the courts look at if the governmental unit or agency, were it a private person, have liability to the claimant under the law. Beyond those claims, U.S. residents are also allowed to sue over violations of their constitutional rights.