United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe
537 U.S. 465 · Decided March 4, 2003 · 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
United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe was decided on March 4, 2003 by a vote of 5–4. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians (general)” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 537 U.S. 465 · 123 S. Ct. 1126 · 155 L. Ed. 2d 40 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 1944
- Docket number
- 01-1067
- Decided
- March 4, 2003
- Argued
- December 2, 2002
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- David H. Souter
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians (general)
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Legal provision
- 28 U.S.C. § 1505
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Concurrence |
Full case caption
United States v. White Mountain Apache Tribe
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-024, docket 2002-024-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians (general)”
- United States v. Navajo Nation
- Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony
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- Atkinson Trading Company, Inc. v. Joe Shirley, Jr.
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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