Cherokee Nation v. Georgia

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Original jurisdiction
Decided March 18, 1831
Full case nameThe Cherokee Nation v. The State of Georgia
Citations30 U.S. 1 (more)
5 Pet. 1; 8 L. Ed. 25; 1831 U.S. LEXIS 337
Case history
PriorOriginal jurisdiction
Outcome
The Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction to hear a suit brought by the Cherokee Nation, which is not a "foreign State" within the meaning of Article III of the federal constitution.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Marshall
Associate Justices
William Johnson · Gabriel Duvall
Joseph Story · Smith Thompson
John McLean · Henry Baldwin
Case opinions
MajorityMarshall
ConcurrenceJohnson
ConcurrenceBaldwin
DissentThompson, joined by Story
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831), was a United States Supreme Court case. The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the U.S. state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits. It ruled that it had no original jurisdiction in the matter, as the Cherokees were a dependent nation, with a relationship to the United States like that of a "ward to its guardian," as said by Chief Justice Marshall.[1]

  1. ^ Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831).