Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/204/415/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 10:27:30+00:00

Document:
The power of Congress over citizenship in Indian tribes is plenary; it may adopt any reasonable method to ascertain who are citizens, and if one method is unsatisfactory, it can try another; nor is its power exhausted because the first plan is by inquiry in a territorial court. The functions of a territorial court in such a case are those of a commission, rather than of a court.
The Act of July 1, 1902, 32 Stat. 641, creating the Choctaw and Chickasaw Citizenship Court and giving it power to examine, and in case of error found, to annul judgments of courts of Indian Territory determining citizenship in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, was a valid exercise of power.
Congress has power to provide for the bringing of a suit in regard to citizenship in Indian tribes in a court of equity in which every class to be affected shall be represented and that those not actually made parties but who belong to the classes represented shall be bound by the decree.
Citizens are bound to take notice of the legislation of Congress.
Mrs. Ella Adams, for herself and her minor children, defendants in error, in the United States court for the Southern District of the Indian Territory, to recover possession of a tract of land in that territory. Defendants answered, and, upon trial, judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiffs. This judgment was sustained by the United States Court of Appeals of the Indian Territory, and, on further appeal, reaffirmed by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 143 F. 716.
The case arises out of the legislation of Congress designed to secure the disintegration of the tribal organization of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian Territory, and the distribution of the property of those tribes among the individual Indians. A full resume of this legislation and the general litigation following it is to be found in Stephens v. Cherokee Nation, 174 U. S. 445, and a full statement of the facts in this case is to be found in the opinion of the United States circuit court of appeals. An entire restatement of these matters is therefore unnecessary.
"The assignment of errors presents but one question. If the decree of the Choctaw-Chickasaw citizenship court, in the test case known as the Riddle case, vacated the decree that defendant, Hill, had, theretofore, procured in the United States court for the Southern District of the Indian Territory, wherein he was adjudged to be a member of the Choctaw tribe of Indians, this case should be affirmed. If it did not, it should be reversed."
To properly appreciate and rightly answer this single question, some things in the history of the legislation and litigation and also some of the facts in this case must be noticed.
of all persons similarly situated, to determine whether the judgments of those courts should be annulled on account of certain alleged irregularities. The agreement and act also provided that, in case the citizenship courts should decide that those judgments should be annulled the papers in any action in those courts, wherein such a judgment had been rendered, should, upon seasonable application of either party, be transferred to the citizenship court, which should proceed to a hearing and determination of the question of citizenship. Under this agreement and act, the court was established and test suit brought in which a decree was entered to the effect that the judgments of the United States courts in the Indian Territory, whereby persons were admitted to citizenship in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations under the Act of June 10, 1896, were annulled and vacated. Hill was not named a party in that test suit, nor did he thereafter apply for a transfer of his case to the citizenship court. The above statement of facts is sufficiently full for an understanding of the single question presented for determination.
of vested rights. By its terms, the act was to operate retrospectively, and as to that it may be observed that, while the general rule is that statutes should be so construed as to give them only prospective operation, yet, where the language expresses a contrary intention in unequivocal terms, the mere fact that the legislation is retroactive does not necessarily render it void."
"And while it is undoubtedly true that legislatures cannot set aside the judgments of courts, compel them to grant new trials, order the discharge of offenders, or direct what steps shall be taken in the progress of a judicial inquiry, the grant of a new remedy by way of review has been often sustained under particular circumstances. Calder v. Bull, 3 Dall. 386; Sampeyreac v. United States, 7 Pet. 222; Freeborn v. Smith, 2 Wall. 160; Garrison v. New York, 21 Wall. 196; Freeland v. Williams, 131 U. S. 405; Essex Public Road Board v. Skinkle, 140 U. S. 334."
"The United States court in Indian Territory is a legislative court, and was authorized to exercise jurisdiction in these citizenship cases as a part of the machinery devised by Congress in the discharge of its duties in respect of these Indian tribes, and, assuming that Congress possesses plenary power of legislation in regard to them, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, it follows that the validity of remedial legislation of this sort cannot be questioned unless in violation of some prohibition of that instrument."
beyond the power of reexamination by a higher court, though subsequently authorized by general law to exercise jurisdiction."
"Congress may undoubtedly establish tribunals with special powers to examine testimony and decide, in the first instance, upon the validity and justice of any claim for money against the United States, subject to the supervision and control of Congress, or a head of any of the executive departments. In this respect, the authority of the Court of Claims is like to that of an auditor or comptroller, with this difference only: that in the latter case the appropriation is made in advance, upon estimates furnished by the different executive departments, of their probable expenses during the ensuing year, and the validity of the claim is decided by the officer appointed by law for that purpose, and the money paid out of the appropriation afterwards made. In the case before us, the validity of the claim is to be first decided, and the appropriation made afterwards. But, in principle, there is no difference between these two special jurisdictions created by acts of Congress for special purposes, and neither of them possesses judicial power in the sense in which those words are used in the Constitution. The circumstance that one is called a court and its decisions called judgments cannot alter its character nor enlarge its power. . . . Congress cannot extend the appellate power of this Court beyond the limits prescribed by the Constitution, and can neither confer nor impose on it the authority or duty of hearing and determining an appeal from a commissioner or auditor, or any other tribunal exercising only special powers under an act of Congress; nor can Congress authorize or require this Court to express an opinion on a case where its judicial power could not be exercised, and where its judgment would not be final and conclusive upon the rights of the parties, and process of execution awarded to carry it into effect."
This decree was followed by legislation which in a general way provided that the rulings of this Court on appeals from the judgments of the Court of Claims should be in effect judgments. While that case is not entirely parallel to this, yet the line of thought pursued in the opinion is suggestive.
We do not feel called upon to enlarge upon it. It is enough now to hold that Congress, in giving to the Indian Territory courts jurisdiction of appeals from the action of the Dawes Commission, did not place the decisions of these courts beyond the reach of further investigation. Hence, the act of Congress of July 1, 1902, creating the Choctaw and Chickasaw citizenship court, and giving to it power to examine the judgments of the Indian Territory courts, and determine whether they should not be annulled on account of irregularities, was a valid exercise of power.
well as others similarly situated, was cognizant of the proceedings that were being had in pursuance of such legislation. He made no application to transfer his case, but chose to abide by the outcome of the case against the ten representatives of his class. The answers to these subordinate questions fully dispose of the main question. Without further discussion, we refer to the exhaustive opinion of Circuit Judge Sanborn, in delivering the judgment of the court of appeals, with which, in the main, we fully concur.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.