New Mexico v. Mescalero Apache Tribe

What happened

The Mescalero Apache Tribe lives on a reservation in Otero County in south central New Mexico. With extensive federal assistance and supervision, the Tribe established a comprehensive scheme for managing the reservation's fish and wildlife. Federally approved tribal ordinances regulate in detail the conditions under which both members and non-members may hunt and fish there. The Tribe's efforts to develop hunting and fishing resources provide jobs for members, and the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and related services produces income used to maintain tribal government and services.

New Mexico sought to apply its own hunting and fishing laws to non-members on the reservation. The Tribe sued, and the Tenth Circuit ruled for it. The Supreme Court vacated that judgment and sent the case back for reconsideration in light of Montana v. United States (1981). On remand the Tenth Circuit adhered to its decision, and the Supreme Court granted review again.

The Supreme Court affirmed unanimously, in an opinion by Justice Marshall. It held that applying New Mexico's laws to on-reservation hunting and fishing by non-members was pre-empted by federal law. The State's exercise of concurrent jurisdiction would effectively nullify the Tribe's authority over use of its resources, and the State identified no interests to justify it. Any financial interest in license revenue or matching federal funds was insufficient, especially since the loss was likely to be insubstantial.

The Court said that a state's authority over non-members' on-reservation activities can be asserted only if not pre-empted by federal law.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error