United States v. John (1978)

United States v. John
Argued April 19, 1978
Decided June 23, 1978
Full case nameUnited States v. Smith John and Harry Smith John; Smith John and Harry Smith John v. State of Mississippi
Citations437 U.S. 634 (more)
98 S. Ct. 2541; 57 L. Ed. 2d 489; 1978 U.S. LEXIS 124
Case history
PriorUnited States v. John, 560 F.2d 1202 (5th Cir. 1977); John v. State, 347 So.2d 959 (Miss. 1977)
SubsequentUnited States v. John, 587 F.2d 683 (5th Cir. 1979)
Holding
Held that lands designated as a reservation in Mississippi are "Indian country" as defined by statute, and under the Major Crimes Act, the State has no jurisdiction to try an Indian for crimes covered by that act. Fifth Circuit Court reversed and remanded, Mississippi Supreme Court reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinion
MajorityBlackmun, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
18 U.S.C. §§ 11511153

United States v. John, 437 U.S. 634 (1978), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that lands designated as a reservation in Mississippi are "Indian country" as defined by statute, although the reservation was established nearly a century after Indian removal and related treaties. The court ruled that, under the Major Crimes Act, the State has no jurisdiction to try a Native American for crimes covered by that act that occurred on reservation land.[1]

  1. ^ United States v. John, 437 U.S. 634 (1978). Public domain This article incorporates public domain material from this U.S government document.