DOLLAR GENERAL CORP. V. MISSISSIPPI BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS

​Issue: Tribal Jurisdiction
​Court: U.S. Supreme Court

​Term: October 2015
​Oral Argument: December 7, 2015
​Vote: 4-4
​Opinion: Per Curiam
​Lower Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Question Presented:
Whether Indian tribal courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate civil tort claims against nonmembers, including as a means of regulating the conduct of nonmembers who enter into consensual relationships with a tribe or its members.

​RLC's Position:
The RLC filed a brief on the merits in a case where the U.S. Supreme Court will decide when a tribe has jurisdiction over nonmembers doing business on tribal lands. The RLC's brief asks the Court to adopt a simple, workable legal standard to eliminate uncertainty for retailers who provide consumer goods and services and jobs to people living on tribal lands.

​Case Outcome:
The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court. 

​Procedural History:

• Dollar General's Petition for Certiorari filed June 2014
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw's​ Respondent's Brief filed August 2014
• Solicitor General invited to file brief October 2014
• Solicitor General's Brief filed May 2015
• Dollar General's Supplemental Brief filed May 2015
• Petition granted June 2015
• Petitioner's brief filed August 2015
• U.S. Supreme Court Opinion issued July 2016

Please use the DOWNLOAD button below to access the RLC's Brief.