Carcieri v. Salazar

Carcieri v. Salazar
Argued November 3, 2008
Decided February 24, 2009
Full case nameDonald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al.
Docket no.07-526
Citations555 U.S. 379 (more)
129 S. Ct. 1058; 172 L. Ed. 2d 791
Case history
PriorCarcieri v. Norton, 290 F. Supp. 2d 167 (D.R.I. 2003); Carcieri v. Norton, 423 F.3d 45 (1st Cir. 2005); Carcieri v. Kempthorne, 497 F.3d 15 (1st Cir. 2007)
Holding
The term "now under Federal jurisdiction" referred only to tribes that were federally recognized when the Indian Reorganization Act became law and the federal government could not take land into trust from tribes that were recognized after 1934.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
MajorityThomas, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito
ConcurrenceBreyer
Concur/dissentSouter, joined by Ginsburg
DissentStevens
Laws applied
25 U.S.C. §§ 465, 479

Carcieri v. Salazar, 555 U.S. 379 (2009), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the federal government could not take land into trust that was acquired by the Narragansett Tribe in the late 20th century, as it was not federally recognized until 1983. While well documented in historic records and surviving as a community, the tribe was largely dispossessed of its lands while under guardianship by the state of Rhode Island before suing in the 20th century.

The Court ruled that the phrase of tribes "now under Federal jurisdiction" in the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 referred only to those tribes that were federally recognized when the act was passed.[1] It ruled that the federal government could not take land into trust for the Narragansett or other tribes that were federally recognized and acquired land after 1934.[2]

  1. ^ Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 988
  2. ^ Donald L. Carcieri, et al. v. Ken L. Salazar, et al., 555 U.S. 379 (2009)