<P> The first Chief Justice of the United States was John Jay ; the Court 's first docketed case was Van Staphorst v. Maryland ( 1791 ) , and its first recorded decision was West v. Barnes ( 1791 ) . Perhaps the most controversial of the Supreme Court 's early decisions was Chisholm v. Georgia , in which it held that the federal judiciary could hear lawsuits against states . Soon thereafter , responding to the concerns of several states , Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment , which granted states immunity from certain types of lawsuits in federal courts . The Amendment was ratified in 1795 . </P>
in what case did the us supreme court hand down its first opinion on august the 3rd 1791
West v. Barnes