Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering (1986)

Authors

United States Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor

Files

Description

Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering is a case that forced the United States (US) Supreme Court to clarify US Public Law 83-280 (typically referred to as Public Law 280). Due to a lack of clarity in US Public Law 280, when the Three Affiliated Tribes attempted to sue Wold Engineering for breach of contract, North Dakota (ND) state courts told the tribes that they were unable to preside over a case between a sovereign nation and a private business. The ND Supreme Court held that the tribes would have to give up tribal sovereignty if they wanted to try their case. The tribes took their case to the US Supreme Court. This is the second of two visitations that the US Supreme Court made to Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering. This case was argued in March 1986 and decided in June 1986. Upon review, the US Supreme Court held that federal assurance that all US citizens have access to US courts preempts any state legislation that would bar the sovereign tribes from state court access. Justices Rehnquist, Brennan, and Stevens dissented.

Publication Date

1986

Source

Library of Congress

Keywords

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, US Supreme Court, ND Supreme Court, Public Law 280, Public Law 83-280, jurisdiction, Wold Engineering, lawsuit

Organizations Referenced

Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, Mandan, Nueta, Hidatsa, US Supreme Court, ND Supreme Court, Wold Engineering

People Referenced

Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O’Connor, William Rehnquist, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Byron White, William J. Brennan Jr., Lewis F. Powell Jr., Warren E. Burger, Raymond Cross, John O. Holm, Christopher D. Quale, Gary H. Lee

Publisher

Government Printing Office

Disciplines

American Politics | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Indigenous Studies | Law and Politics | Native American Studies | United States History

Related Documents

An Act to Confer Jurisdiction on the States of California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin, With Respect to Criminal Offenses and Civil Causes of Action Committed or Arising on Indian Reservations Within Such States and for Other Purposes (US Public Law 280)

Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering (1984)

Recommended Citation

Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering, 476 U.S. 877. (1985), https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/3/.