Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government
522 U.S. 520 · Decided February 25, 1998 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government was decided on February 25, 1998 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians, state jurisdiction” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 522 U.S. 520 · 118 S. Ct. 948 · 140 L. Ed. 2d 30 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 1449
- Docket number
- 96-1577
- Decided
- February 25, 1998
- Argued
- December 10, 1997
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians, state jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 1151
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-031, docket 1997-031-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians, state jurisdiction”
- South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe
- Montana v. Crow Tribe of Indians
- Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.
- Cass County v. Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
- William Strate v. A-1 Contractors and Lyle Stockert
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Chickasaw Nation
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Carson Lynn Brown v. R. Williams
- City of Monroe v. United States
- Murphy J. Foster, Jr. v. G. Scott LoveLaw held unconstitutional
- Lynne Kalina v. Rodney Fletcher
- South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe
- Dolores M. Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc.
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error