For The Journal During the holiday season, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver decided the latest in a long string of cases on Indian gambling. The Mescalero Apache Tribe had raised sovereign immunity as a defense to claims brought by the State of New Mexico, which also is a sovereign equipped with immunity to lawsuits.
Tribal sovereignty gives Indian tribes power to manage their own affairs.
Frequently, the state can't exercise its sovereign powers in ways that affect the ability of Indian communities to govern themselves. Indian tribes, of course, are subject to federal power. One of the most important aspects of sovereignty is immunity from lawsuits. Sovereigns, whether states, Indian tribes or the federal government, can't be sued unless they consent. This is a vestige of the medieval philosophy that a king can do no wrong.