United States v. John John v. Mississippi

• Decision Date: 23 June 1978
• Docket Number: Nos. 77-836,77-575,s. 77-836
• Citation: 437 U.S. 634,98 S.Ct. 2541,57 L.Ed.2d 489
• Parties: UNITED STATES, Petitioner, v. Smith JOHN and Harry Smith John. Smith JOHN and Harry Smith John, Appellants, v. State of MISSISSIPPI
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

437 U.S. 634

98 S.Ct. 2541

57 L.Ed.2d 489

UNITED STATES, Petitioner,

v Smith JOHN and Harry Smith John.

Smith JOHN and Harry Smith John, Appellants,

v. State of MISSISSIPPI.

Nos. 77-836, 77-575.

Argued April 19, 1978.

Decided June 23, 1978.

Syllabus

Lands designated as a reservation for Choctaw Indians residing in central Mississippi held, on the basis of the history of the relations between the Mississippi Choctaws and the United States, to be "Indian country," as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1151 (1976 ed.) to include "all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government," and as used in the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153, which makes any Indian who commits certain specified offenses "within the Indian country . . . subject to the same laws and penalties as all other persons committing [such] offenses, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States." Neither the fact that the Choctaws in Mississippi are merely a remnant of a larger group of Indians, nor the fact that federal supervision over them has not been continuous, affects the federal power to deal with them under these statutes. Hence, the Major Crimes Act provided a proper basis for federal prosecution of a Choctaw Indian for assault with intent to kill (one of the specified offenses) occurring on such lands, and Mississippi had no power similarly to prosecute him for the same offense. Pp. 2543-2552.

No. 77-836, 560 F.2d 1202, reversed and remanded; No. 77-575, 347 So.2d 959, reversed.

H. Bartow Farr III, Phoenix, Ariz., for the United States.

Richard B. Collins, Phoenix, Ariz., for Smith John and Harry Smith John.

Carl F. Andre, Jackson, Miss., for the State of Mississippi.

Mr. Justice BLACKMUN delivered the opinion of the Court.

These cases present issues concerning state and federal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed on lands within the area designated as a reservation for the Choctaw Indians residing in central Mississippi. More precisely, the questions presented are whether the lands are "Indian country," as that phrase is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1151 (1976 ed.) and as it was used in the Major Crimes Act of 1885, being § 9 of the Act of Mar. 3, 1885, 23 Stat. 385, later codified as 18 U.S.C. § 1153, and, if so, whether these federal statutes operate to preclude the exercise of state criminal jurisdiction over the offenses.

I

In October 1975, in the Southern District of Mississippi, Smith John 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).² He was tried before a jury and, on December 15, was convicted of the lesser included offense of simple assault.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 No. 77-836, p. 39A, ruled that the District Court was without jurisdiction over the case because the lands designated as a reservation for the Choctaw Indians residing in Mississippi, and on which the offense took place, were not "Indian country," and that, therefore, § 1153 did not provide a basis for federal prosecution. 560 F.2d 1202, 1205-1206 (1977). The United States sought review, and we granted its petition for certiorari in No. 77-836. 434 U.S. 1032, 98 S.Ct. 764, 54 L.Ed.2d 779 (1978).

In April 1976, Smith John 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. § 97-3-7(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 postponed jurisdiction, 434 U.S. 1032, 98 S.Ct. 764, 54 L.Ed.2d 779 (1978). We now note jurisdiction. Antoine v. Washington, 420 U.S. 194, 95 S.Ct. 944, 43 L.Ed.2d 129 (1975); McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Comm'n, 411 U.S. 164, 93 S.Ct. 1257, 36 L.Ed.2d 129 (1973).

II

There is no dispute that Smith John is a Choctaw Indian, and it is presumed by all that he is a descendant of the Choctaws who for hundreds of years made their homes in what is now central Mississippi. The story of these Indians, and of their brethren who left Mississippi to settle in what is now the State of Oklahoma, has been told in the pages of the reports of this Court and of other federal courts. See, e. g., Choctaw Nation v. Oklahoma, 397 U.S. 620, 90 S.Ct. 1328, 25 L.Ed.2d 615 (1970); Winton v. Amos, 255 U.S. 373, 41 S.Ct. 342, 65 L.Ed. 684 (1921); Fleming v. McCurtain, 215 U.S. 56, 30 S.Ct. 16, 54 L.Ed. 88 (1909); United States v. Choctaw Nation, 179 U.S. 494, 21 S.Ct. 149, 45 L.Ed. 291 (1900); Choctaw Nation v. United States, 119 U.S. 1, 7 S.Ct. 75, 30 L.Ed. 306 (1886); Chitto v. United States, 138 F.Supp. 253, 133 Ct.Cl. 643, cert. denied, 352 U.S. 841, 77 S.Ct. 64, 1 L.Ed.2d 57 (1956); Choctaw Nation v. United States, 81 Ct.Cl. 1, cert. denied, 296 U.S. 643, 56 S.Ct. 246, 80 L.Ed. 457 (1935).

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 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.⁵

Despite these concessions, when Mississippi became a State on December 10, 1817, the Choctaws still retained claims, recognized by the Federal Government, to more than three-quarters of the land within the State's boundaries. The popular pressure to make these lands available to non-Indian settlement, and the responsibility for these Indians felt by some in the Government, combined to shape a federal policy aimed at persuading the Choctaws to give up their lands in Mississippi completely and to remove to new lands in what for many years was known as the Indian Territory, now a part of Oklahoma and Arkansas. The first attempt to effectuate this policy, the Treaty at Doak's Stand, 7 Stat. 210 (1820), resulted in an exchange of more than 5 million acres. Because, however, of complications arising when it was discovered that much of the land promised the Indians already had been settled, most Choctaws remained in Mississippi. A delegation of Choctaws went to Washington, D. C., to untangle the situation and to negotiate yet another treaty. See 7 Stat. 234 (1825). Still, few Choctaws moved.

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.⁶ Even before Jackson himself had acted on behalf of the Federal Government, however, the State of Mississippi, grown impatient with federal policies, had taken steps to assert jurisdiction over the lands occupied by the Choctaws. In early 1829, legislation was enacted purporting to extend legal process into the Choctaw territory. 1824-1838 Miss.Gen.Laws 195 (Act of Feb. 4, 1829). In his first annual address to Congress on December 8, 1829, President Jackson made known his position on the Indian question and his support of immediate removal. S. Doc. No. 1, 21st Cong., 1st Sess., 15-16 (1829). Further encouraged, the Mississippi Legislature passed an Act purporting to abolish the Choctaw government and to impose a fine upon anyone assuming the role of chief. The Act also declared that the rights of white persons living within the State were to be enjoyed by the Indians, and that the laws of the State were to be in effect throughout the territory they occupied. 1824-1838 Miss.Gen.Laws 207 (Act of Jan. 19, 1830).

In Washington, Congress debated whether the States had power to assert such jurisdiction and whether such assertions were wise.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 Rabbit Creek, 7 Stat. 333, was signed.⁸ It provided that the Choctaws would cede to the United States all lands still occupied by them east of the Mississippi, more than 10 million acres. They were to remove to lands west of the river, where they would remain perpetually free of federal or state ontrol, by the fall of 1833. The Government would help plan and pay for this move. Each Choctaw "head of a family being desirous to remain and become a citizen of the States," id., at 335, however, was to be permitted to do so by signifying his intention within six months to the federal agent assigned to the area. Lands were to be reserved, at least 640 acres per household, to be held by the Indians in fee simple if they would remain upon the lands for five years. Ibid....