Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island, et al. v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al. (555 U.S. 379)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 24, 2009 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 555 U.S. 379 · 129 S. Ct. 1058
- Decided
- February 24, 2009
- Term
- October Term 2008
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA or Act) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, a respondent in this case, to acquire land and hold it in trust “for the purpose of providing land for Indians.” §5, 48 Stat. 985, 25 U. S. C. §465. The IRA defines the term “Indian” to “include all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction.” §479. The Secretary notified petitioners — the State of Rhode Island, its Governor, and the town of Charlestown, Rhode Island — that he intended to accept in trust a parcel of land for use by the Narragansett Indian Tribe in accordance with his claimed authority under the statute. In proceedings before the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA), the District Court, and the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, petitioners unsuccessfully challenged the Secretary’s authority to take the parcel into trust. In reviewing the determination of the Court of Appeals, we are asked to interpret the statutory phrase “now under Federal jurisdiction” in §479. Petitioners contend that the term “now” refers to the time of the statute’s enactment, and permits the Secretary to take land into trust for members of recognized tribes that were “under Federal jurisdiction” in 1934. Respondents argue that the word “now” is an ambiguous term that can reasonably be…
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