arm of the state
arm of the state. An entity created by a state and operating as an alter ego or instrumentality of the state, such as a state university or a state department of transportation. • The 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution generally bars suits in federal court by individuals against states. The Amendment has been interpreted as protecting arms of the state as well as the state itself. Cities and local school districts have been held not to be arms of the state. [Cases: States 45. C.J.S. States §§ 79, 82, 136.]
