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Timestamp: 2019-10-21 04:46:36
Document Index: 374134629

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1153', '§ 97', '§ 1257', '§ 18', '§ 478', '§ 16', '§ 476', '§ 1151', '§ 479', '§ 1153', '§ 1153']

UNITED STATES V. JOHN, 437 U. S. 634 (1978) - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
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In October 1975, in the Southern District of Mississippi, Smith John [Footnote 1] was indicted by a federal grand jury for assault with intent to kill Artis Jenkins, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 and 113(a). [Footnote 2] He was tried before a jury and, on chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
December 15, was convicted of the lesser included offense of simple assault. [Footnote 3] A sentence of 90 days in a local jail-type institution and a fine of $300 were imposed. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, considering the issue on its own motion, see App. to Pet. for Cert. in chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In April, 1976, Smith John [Footnote 4] was indicted by a grand jury of Leake County, Miss., for aggravated assault upon the same Artis Jenkins, in violation of Miss.Code Ann § 97-37(2) (Supp. 1977). The incident that was the subject of the state indictment was the same as that to which the federal indictment related. A motion to dismiss the charge on the ground the federal jurisdiction was exclusive was denied. John was tried before a jury in the Circuit Court of Leake County, and, in May, 1976, was convicted of the offense charged. He was sentenced to two years in the state penitentiary. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Mississippi, relying on its earlier decision in Tubby v. State, 327 So.2d 272 (1976), and on the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in United States v. State Tax Comm'n, 505 F.2d 633 (1974), rehearing denied, 535 F.2d 300, rehearing en banc denied, 541 F.2d 469 (1976), held that the United States District Court had had no jurisdiction to prosecute Smith John, and that, therefore, his arguments against state court jurisdiction were without merit. 347 So.2d 959 (1977). Characterizing the case as one falling within this Court's jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1257(2) (1976 ed.), Smith John filed notice of an appeal in No. 77-575. We chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
At the time of the Revolutionary War, these Indians occupied large areas of what is now the State of Mississippi. In the years just after the formation of our country, they entered into a treaty of friendship with the United States. Treaty at Hopewell, 7 Stat. 21 (1786). But the United States became anxious to secure the lands the Indians occupied in order to allow for westward expansion. The Choctaws, in an attempt to avoid what proved to be their fate, entered into a series of treaties gradually relinquishing their claims to these lands. [Footnote 5] chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Only after the election of Andrew Jackson to the Presidency in 1828 did the federal efforts to persuade the Choctaws to leave Mississippi meet with some success. [Footnote 6] Even before chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In Washington, Congress debated whether the States had power to assert such jurisdiction and whether such assertions were wise. [Footnote 7] But the only message heard by the Choctaws in Mississippi was that the Federal Government no longer would stand between the States and the Indians. Appreciating these realities, the Choctaws again agreed to deal with the Federal Government. On September 27, 1830, the Treaty at Dancing chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The relations between the Federal Government and the Choctaws remaining in Mississippi did not end with the formal ratification of the Treaty at Dancing Rabbit Creek by the United States Senate in February, 1831. 7 Cong.Deb. 347 (1831). The account of the federal attempts to satisfy chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
the obligations of the United States, both to those who remained [Footnote 9] and to those who removed, [Footnote 10] is one best left to historians. It is enough to say here that the failure of these chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
During the 1890's, the Federal Government became acutely aware of the fact that not all the Choctaws had left Mississippi. At that time, federal policy toward the Indians favored the allotment of tribal holdings, including the Choctaw holdings in the Indian Territory, in order to make way for Oklahoma's statehood. The inclusion of the Choctaws then residing in Mississippi in the distribution of these holdings proved among the largest obstacles encountered during the allotment effort. [Footnote 11] But even during this era, when federal policy again chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
supported the removal of the Mississippi Choctaws to join their brethren in the West, there was no doubt that there remained persons in Mississippi who were properly regarded both by the Congress and by the Executive Branch as Indians. It was not until 1916 that this federal recognition of the presence of Indians in Mississippi was manifested by other than attempts to secure their removal. The appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in that year included an item (for $1,000) to enable the Secretary of the Interior "to investigate the condition of the Indians living in Mississippi" and to report to Congress "as to their need for additional land and school facilities." 39 Stat. 138. See H.R.Doc. No. 1464, 64th Cong., 2d Sess. (1916). In March, 1917, hearings were held in Union, Miss., by the House Committee on Investigation of the Indian Service, again exploring the desirability of providing federal services for these Indians. The efforts resulted in an inclusion in the general appropriation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1918. T his appropriation, passed only after debate in the House, 56 Cong.Rec. 1136-1140 (1918), included funds for the establishment of an agency with a physician, for the maintenance of schools, and for the purchase of land and farm equipment. [Footnote 12] Lands purchased chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In the 1930's, the federal Indian policy had shifted back toward the preservation of Indian communities generally. This shift led to the enactment of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 48 Stat. 984, and the discontinuance of the allotment program. The Choctaws in Mississippi were among the many groups who, before the legislation was enacted, voted to support its passage. This vote was reported to Congress by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. See Hearings on S. 2755 and S. 3645 before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 73d Cong., 2d Sess., pt. 2, p. 82 (1934); Hearings on H.R. 7902 before the House Committee on Indian Affairs, 73d Cong., 2d Sess., 423 (1934). On March 30, 1935, the Mississippi Choctaws voted, as anticipated by § 18 of the Act, 48 Stat. 988, 25 U.S.C. § 478 (1976 ed.), to accept the provisions of the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
In April, 1945, again as anticipated by the Indian Reorganization Act, § 16, 48 Stat. 987, 25 U.S.C. § 476 (1976 ed.), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians adopted a constitution and bylaws; these were duly approved by the appropriate federal authorities in May 1945. [Footnote 15] chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The definition of "Indian country" as used here and elsewhere in chapter 53 of Title 18 is provided in § 1151. [Footnote 16] Both the Mississippi Supreme Court chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
302 U.S. at 302 U. S. 538. The principal test applied was drawn from chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The Court of Appeals and the Mississippi Supreme Court held, and the State now argues, that the 1944 proclamation had no effect, because the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 was not intended to apply to the Mississippi Choctaws. Assuming for the moment that authority for the proclamation chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
can be found only in the 1934 Act, we find this argument unpersuasive. The 1934 Act defined "Indians" not only as "all persons of Indian descent who are members of any recognized [in 1934] tribe now under Federal jurisdiction," and their descendants who then were residing on any Indian reservation, but also as "all other persons of one-half or more Indian blood." 48 Stat. 988, 25 U.S.C. § 479 (1976 ed.). There is no doubt that persons of this description lived in Mississippi, and were recognized as such by Congress and by the Department of the Interior, at the time the Act was passed. [Footnote 19] The references to the Mississippi Choctaws in the legislative history of the Act, see supra at 437 U. S. 645-646, confirm our view that the Mississippi Choctaws were not to be excepted from the general operation of the 1934 Act. [Footnote 20] chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Mississippi appears to concede, Brief for Appellee in No. 77-575, p. 44, that, if § 1153 provides a basis for the prosecution of Smith John for the offense charged, the State has no similar jurisdiction. This concession, based on the assumption that § 1153 ordinarily is preemptive of state jurisdiction when it applies, seems to us to be correct. [Footnote 21] It was a necessary premise of at least one of our earlier decisions. Seymour v. Superintendent, 368 U. S. 351 (1962). See also Williams v. Lee, 358 U. S. 217, 358 U. S. 220, and n. 5 (1959); Rice v. Olson, 324 U. S. 786 (1945); In re Carmen's Petition, 165 F.Supp. 942 (ND Cal.1958), aff'd sub nom. Dickson v. Carmen, 270 F.2d 809 (CA9 1959), cert. denied, 361 U.S. 034 (1960). [Footnote 22] chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
We assume for purposes of argument, as does the United States, that there have been times when Mississippi's jurisdiction over the Choctaws and their lands went unchallenged. But, particularly in view of the elaborate history, recounted above, of relations between the Mississippi Choctaws and the United States, we do not agree that Congress and the Executive chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The State also argues that the Federal Government may not deal specially with the Indians within the State's boundaries, because to do so would be inconsistent with the Treaty at Dancing Rabbit Creek. This argument may seem to be a cruel joke to those familiar with the history of the execution of that treaty, and of the treaties that renegotiated claims arising from it. See supra at 437 U. S. 640-643. And even if that treaty were the only source regarding the status of these Indians in federal law, we see nothing in it inconsistent with the continued federal supervision of them under the Commerce Clause. It is true that this treaty anticipated that each of those electing to remain in Mississippi would become "a citizen of the States," but the extension of citizenship status to Indians does not, in itself, end the powers given Congress to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary