Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho

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Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Argued October 16, 1996
Decided June 23, 1997
Full case nameIdaho, et al., Petitioners v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho, etc., et al.
Citations521 U.S. 261 ( more )
117 S. Ct. 2028; 138 L. Ed. 2d 438; 65 U.S.L.W. 4540; 27 Envtl. L. Rep. 21,227; 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4776; 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 7871; 97 CJ C.A.R. 1000; 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 90
Case history
Prior798 F. Supp. 1443 (D. Idaho 1992), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 42 F.3d 1244 (9th Cir. 1994), cert. granted, 517 U.S. 1132(1996), and cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1133(1996).
SubsequentOn remand, 118 F.3d 1399 (9th Cir. 1997).
Holding
The Tribe's suit is not covered by the Ex parte Young exception to state immunity from suit.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens  · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia  · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter  · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg  · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityKennedy (Parts I, II–A, and III), joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Thomas
ConcurrenceKennedy (Parts II–B, II–C, and II–D), joined by Rehnquist
ConcurrenceO'Connor (in part), joined by Scalia, Thomas
DissentSouter, joined by Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend XI

Idaho v. Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho, 521 U.S. 261 (1997), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the Coeur d'Alene Tribe could not maintain an action against the state of Idaho to press its claim to Lake Coeur d'Alene due to the state's Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit, notwithstanding the exception recognized in Ex parte Young . The case was an important precedent for aboriginal title in the United States and sovereign immunity in the United States.

After the district court's decision dismissing the suit, the federal government—in its guardian capacity—brought a substantially similar suit against Idaho; in 2001, in 5–4 decision, the Court ruled for the federal government: Idaho v. United States (2001). [1]

Notes

  1. United States v. Idaho, 533 U.S. 262 (2001).

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