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AFFILIATED TRIBES V. WOLD ENGINEERING, 476 U. S. 877 (1986) - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
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AFFILIATED TRIBES V. WOLD ENGINEERING, 476 U. S. 877 (1986)
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Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering, 476 U.S. 877 (1986)
O'CONNOR, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J.,and WHITE, MARSHALL, BLACKMUN, and POWELL, JJ., joined. REHNQUIST, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BRENNAN and STEVENS, JJ., joined, post, p. 893. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 878
This is the second time this Court has been called upon to address this jurisdictional controversy. See Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Engineering, 467 U. S. 138 (1984) (Three Tribes I). Because the facts and procedural history of the litigation were set forth in some detail in Three Tribes I, our present recitation will be brief. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 879
467 U.S. at 467 U. S. 143-144. Although Vermillion v. Spotted Elk, 85 N.W.2d 432 (1957), was decided after the enactment of Pub.L. 280, the North chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 880
Dakota Supreme Court made clear that it was confirming preexisting jurisdiction, rather than establishing a previously unavailable jurisdictional category. Id. at 435-436. See also Three Tribes I, supra, at 467 U. S. 150, n. 9.
N.D.Cent.Code § 27-19-01 (Supp.1985). chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 881
Id. at 512. The court also rejected petitioner's federal and state constitutional challenges, relying in part on the argument that the discrimination against Indian litigants chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 882
embodied in Chapter 27-19 was authorized by Pub.L. 280, and was therefore insulated, under Washington v. Yakima Indian Nation, 439 U. S. 463 (1979), from heightened scrutiny. See 321 N.W.2d at 512-513.
On remand, the North Dakota Supreme Court held that Chapter 27-19 terminated any residuary jurisdiction that may have existed over claims arising in Indian country brought by tribal Indians against non-Indians in state court. 364 N.W.2d at 104. It further held that state law barred petitioner from maintaining its suit in state court absent its waiver of its sovereign immunity in accordance with the statutory procedures. Id. at 103-104. Finally, the court rejected petitioner's due process and equal protection challenges. It stated that petitioner had not been denied a due process right to access to the courts by action of the State, reasoning that it was the Indian people who had deprived themselves of access to state jurisdiction in declining to avail themselves of the State's jurisdictional offer by waiving their sovereign immunity. See id. at 106. The North Dakota court then ruled that the jurisdictional disclaimer did not violate the Equal Protection Clause because, by virtue of the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 883
consent provision, "[t]he statute does not treat [the Tribe] less than equal, it treats them more than equal." Id. at 107.
Because we believe that the North Dakota law is preempted insofar as it is applied to disclaim preexisting jurisdiction over suits by tribal plaintiffs against non-Indians for which there is no other forum, absent the Tribe's waiver of .its sovereign immunity and consent to the application of state civil law in all cases to which it is a party, we reverse. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 884
Public Law 280 represents the primary expression of federal policy governing the assumption by States of civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Indian Nations. The Act was the result of "comprehensive and detailed congressional scrutiny," Kennerly v. District Court of Montana, 423 U. S. 423, 423 U. S. 424, n. 1, 427 (1971), and was intended to replace the ad hoc regulation of state jurisdiction over Indian country with general legislation, providing "for all affected States to come chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 885
within its terms." S.Rep. No. 699, 83d Cong., 1st Sess., 5 (1953). See also Goldberg, Public Law 280: The Limits of State Jurisdiction over Reservation Indians, 22 UCLA L.Rev. 535, 540-544 (1975). In examining the effect of comprehensive legislation governing Indian matters such as this,
As originally enacted, Pub.L. 280 plainly contemplated that, if States chose to extend state court jurisdiction over causes of action arising in Indian country, they would be required to honor that commitment, for the Act made no provision for States to return any jurisdiction to the United States. See F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 370 (1982) (hereinafter Cohen). Congress' failure to provide for the retrocession of jurisdiction assumed by the States is fully chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 886
consistent with the purposes underlying Pub.L. 280: promoting the gradual assimilation of Indians into the dominant American culture and easing the fiscal and administrative burden borne by the Federal Government by virtue of its control over Indian affairs. See Goldberg, supra, at 542-544. See also H.R.Rep. No. 848, 83d Cong., 1st Sess., 3, 6 (1953). Were States permitted, at their option and at any time, to retrocede all or part of the jurisdiction they had assumed and to leave Indians with no recourse for civil wrongs, the congressional plan of gradual but steady assimilation could be disrupted, and the divestment of federal dominance nullified.
When Congress subsequently revisited the question of retrocession in the 1968 amendments, it provided that "[t]he United States is authorized to accept a retrocession by any State," 25 U.S.C. § 1323(a), but it specifically limited this authorization to the retrocession of jurisdiction assumed under Pub.L. 280 pursuant to the original 1953 version of the statute. See ibid. (permitting retrocession of jurisdiction "acquired by [the] State pursuant to the provisions of section 1162 of title 18, of the United States Code, section 1360 of title 28, of the United States Code, or section 7 of the Act of August 15, 1953 (67 Stat. 588), as it was in effect prior to its repeal by subsection (b) of this section"). See also Exec.Order No. 11435, 3 CFR 754 (1966-1970 Comp.) (giving Secretary of the Interior discretionary authority to accept retrocession of jurisdiction by a State); Goldberg, supra, at 558-559. This retrocession provision apparently was added in response to Indian dissatisfaction with Pub.L. 280. See Cohen 370. In light of this congressional purpose, the fact that Congress did not provide for retrocession of jurisdiction lawfully assumed prior to the enactment of Pub.L. 280 or of jurisdiction assumed after 1968 cannot be attributed to mere oversight or inadvertence. Since Congress was motivated by a desire to shield the Indians from unwanted extensions of jurisdiction over them, there was no need to provide for chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 887
retrocession in those circumstances because the previously assumed jurisdiction over Indian country was only lawful to the extent that it was consistent with Indian tribal sovereignty and self-government, see, e.g., Williams v. Lee, 358 U. S. 217 (1959), and the jurisdiction assumed after 1968 could be secured only upon the receipt of tribal consent. See 25 U.S.C. § 1321.
Our consideration of the State's interest in disclaiming the preexisting, unconditional jurisdiction extended to tribal chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 888
The federal interest in ensuring that all citizens have access to the courts is obviously a weighty one. See, e.g., California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited, 404 U. S. 508, 404 U. S. 510, 404 U. S. 513-514 (1972); Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. NLRB, 461 U. S. 731, 461 U. S. 741, 461 U. S. 742-744 (1983). This Court and many state courts have long recognized that Indians share this interest in access to the courts, and that tribal autonomy and self-government are not impeded when a State allows an Indian to enter its court to seek relief against a non-Indian concerning a claim arising in Indian country. See, e.g., chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 889
Three Tribes I, 467 U.S. at 467 U. S. 148, and n. 7 (citing authority). North Dakota conditions the Tribe's access to the courts on its waiver of its tribal sovereign immunity and agreement to the application of state civil law in all state court civil actions to which it is or may be a party. These conditions apply regardless of whether, as here, the Tribe has no other effective means of securing relief for civil wrongs. As the State concedes, even if the Tribe were to have access to tribal court to resolve civil controversies with non-Indians, it would be unable to enforce those judgments in state court; thus, the Tribe cannot be said to have a meaningful alternative to state adjudication by way of access to other tribunals in such cases. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 26, 27. Cf. Lohnes v. Cloud, 254 N.W.2d 430 (N. D.1977). Respondent argues that the Tribe is not truly deprived of access to the courts by the North Dakota jurisdictional scheme, because the Tribe could have unrestricted access to the State's courts by "merely" consenting to the statutory conditions. We conclude, however, that those statutory conditions may be met only at an unacceptably high price to tribal sovereignty, and thus operate to effectively bar the Tribe from the courts.
N.D.Cent.Code § 27-19-08 (Supp.1985). Although these subjects clearly encompass areas of traditional tribal control, see Fisher v. District Court, 424 U.S. at 424 U. S. 388-389; United States v. Quiver, 241 U. S. 602 (1916), the North Dakota statute contemplates that state civil law will control in these areas. See chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 890
§ 27-19-01. Respondent argues that Chapter 27-19 safeguards tribal self-government by also providing that any tribal ordinance or custom
Chapter 27-19's requirement that the Tribe consent to suit in all civil causes of action before it may again gain access to state court as a plaintiff also serves to defeat the Tribe's federally conferred immunity from suit. The common law sovereign immunity possessed by the Tribe is a necessary corollary to Indian sovereignty and self-governance. See, e.g., Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U. S. 49 (1978). Of course, because of the peculiar "quasi-sovereign" status of the Indian tribes, the Tribe's immunity is not congruent with that which the Federal Government, or the States, enjoy. 309 U. S. 513 (1940). Cf. also McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, supra, at 411 U. S. 173. And this aspect of tribal sovereignty, like all others, is subject to plenary federal control and definition. See Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, supra,@ at 436 U. S. 58. Nonetheless, in the absence of federal authorization, tribal immunity, like all aspects of tribal sovereignty, is privileged from diminution by the States.
To be sure, not all conditions imposed on access to state courts which potentially affect tribal immunity, and thus tribal self-government, are objectionable. For instance, even petitioner concedes that its tribal immunity does not extend to protection from the normal processes of the state court in which it has filed suit. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 7, 10-11 ("The Three Affiliated Tribes believe it would be proper in the interest of justice that they would be subject to discovery proceedings and to proceedings that would insure a fair trial to the non-Indian defendants"). Petitioner also concedes that a non-Indian defendant may assert a counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject of the principal suit as a setoff or recoupment. See id. at 6-7, 9. It is clear, however, that the extent of the waiver presently required by Chapter 27-19 is unduly intrusive on the Tribe's common law sovereign immunity, and thus on its ability to govern itself according to its own laws. By requiring that the Tribe open itself up to the coercive jurisdiction of state courts for all matters occurring on the reservation, the statute invites a potentially severe impairment of the authority of the tribal government, its courts, and its laws. See, e.g., Fisher v. District Court, supra, at 424 U. S. 387-388. * chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 892
Certainly, the 1968 amendments to Pub.L. 280 pointedly illustrate the continuing congressional concern over tribal sovereignty. The impetus for the addition of a consent requirement in the 1968 amendments was congressional dissatisfaction with the involuntary extension of state jurisdiction over Indians who did not feel they were ready to accept such jurisdiction, or who felt threatened by it. See, e.g., S.Rep. No. 721, 90th Cong., 1st Sess., 32 (1967) (views of Sen. Ervin) ("Tribes have been critical of Public Law 280 because it authorizes the unilateral application of State law to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 893
all tribes without their consent and regardless of their needs or special circumstances. Moreover, it appears that tribal laws were unnecessarily preempted . . ."); Rights of Members of Indian Tribes: Hearing on H.R. 15419 and Related Bills before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 25 (1968) (referring to tribal consent requirement as a way to ensure that Indians are not "subjected" to state courts' jurisdiction before they are ready).
North Dakota law provides that, in order for an Indian tribe such as petitioner to avail itself of the jurisdiction of North Dakota courts as a plaintiff, it must also accept the jurisdiction of those courts when it is properly named as a defendant chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 894
in them. This Court holds that such a rule -- which would commend itself to most people as eminently fair -- is preempted by federal law. To support this conclusion, the Court advances two arguments: first, preemption by Pub.L. 280, and, second, the "overshadowing" of the state interest by "longstanding federal and tribal interests." Ante at 476 U. S. 884 . Neither by themselves nor in the rather awkward juxtaposition in which the Court places them are these arguments persuasive.
The Court provides no support for its assertion that Pub.L. 280 establishes a "comprehensive" federal scheme that preempts any state law that may inhibit the accomplishment of its general purpose. The Court's citation to Kennerly v. District Court of Montana, 423 U. S. 423, 423 U. S. 427 (1971) (per curiam), is unhelpful; the Court there was describing the "comprehensive and detailed" scrutiny that Congress appeared to give in deciding whether or not to eliminate federal barriers to state jurisdiction over Indian matters, and not the nature of Pub.L. 280. In addition, the brevity of Pub.L. 280, its 1968 amendments, and the relevant legislative history belie the Court's assertion that these statutes establish a "comprehensive" plan like statutes that occupy a given field chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 895
of regulation. Cf. Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U. S. 238, 464 U. S. 248 (1984). Public Law 280 does little more than make a general pronouncement that certain federal barriers to state jurisdiction have been eliminated. See Act of Aug. 15, 1953, ch. 505, § 7, 67 Stat. 590. Nor does the legislative history, the 1968 amendments, or their legislative history provide any additions that transform the general pronouncement into a "comprehensive" plan. See S.Rep. No. 699, 83d Cong., 1st Sess. (1953); Pub.L. 90-284, Title IV, §§ 402, 403, 82 Stat. 79; S.Rep. No. 721, 90th Cong., 1st Sess. (1967).
Nor can any congressional intent to forbid the disclaimer of jurisdiction asserted prior to the passage of Pub.L. 280 be reasonably inferred from the subsequent authorization of such disclaimer with respect to jurisdiction asserted pursuant to Pub.L. 280. This Court has long recognized that federal law has a "generally interstitial character," Richards v. United States, 369 U. S. 1, 369 U. S. 7 (1962), in the sense that Congress generally enacts legislation against the background of existing state law. See, e.g., 441 U. S. 478 (1979), citing P. Bator, P. Mistakin, D. Shapiro, & H. Wechsler, Hart & Wechsler's The Federal Courts and the Federal System 470-471 (2d ed.1973). An appreciation for this traditional understanding of the nature of state power does not render superfluous the congressional authorization of disclaimer in the 1968 amendments to Pub.L. 280. [email protected] Pub.L. 90-284, Title IV, §§ 402, 403, 82 Stat. 79. Since the 1968 amendments were generally designed to impose a limitation on the ability of state legislatures to assert jurisdiction over Indian country, Congress could reasonably have intended the provision authorizing the disclaimer of previously asserted jurisdiction to encourage such disclaimer with a concomitant retention of a more limited form of jurisdiction. That the disclaimer provision referred only to jurisdiction asserted pursuant to Pub.L. 280 says nothing about congressional intent as to jurisdiction lawfully asserted in some other way. Given the traditional powers of state government, it is unreasonable to interpret such silence as evidence of an intent to forbid the States to disclaim jurisdiction asserted in another way. I find the Court's preemption analysis to be quite unconvincing.
I think the Court's reasoning supporting its conclusion that federal and tribal interests "overshadow" the State's interest in fair play for litigants fares no better than its reasoning about Pub.L. 280. The requirement that a tribe consent to the general civil jurisdiction of state courts as a quid pro quo for access to those courts as a plaintiff seems entirely fair and evenhanded to me. Nothing in Pub.L. 280 or any other federal statute requires a State to accept jurisdiction over Indian country in the first place. Nor has such an obligation been created as a matter of federal case law dealing with the Indians. To the contrary, all the cases and statutes with which I am familiar speak only to the limitations on the assertion of jurisdiction over these matters. Thus, because Congress and this Court have left the States free to bar access entirely by simply not asserting jurisdiction over Indian chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Page 476 U. S. 897