Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island, et al. v. Ken L. Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al.

Decided February 24, 2009. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-526 · 555 U.S. 379 (2009) · Cited 326 times

Holding

Because the term “now under Federal jurisdiction” in § 479 unambiguously refers to those tribes that were under federal jurisdiction when the IRA was enacted in 1934, and because the Narragansett Tribe was not under federal jurisdiction in 1934, the Secretary does not have the authority to take the 31-acre parcel into trust.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Montana v. Kennedy · 366 U.S. 308 (1961)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• Morton v. Mancari · 417 U.S. 535 (1974)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• United States v. Gonzales · 520 U.S. 1 (1997)
• Dodd v. United States · 545 U.S. 353 (2005)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Christensen v. Harris County · 529 U.S. 576 (2000)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Lamie v. United States Trustee · 540 U.S. 526 (2004)
• Nationwide Mutual Insurance v. Darden · 503 U.S. 318 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Hartford Underwriters Insurance v. Union Planters Bank, N. A. · 530 U.S. 1 (2000)
• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• Fiallo Ex Rel. Rodriguez v. Bell · 430 U.S. 787 (1977)
• Moskal v. United States · 498 U.S. 103 (1990)
• Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co. · 505 U.S. 469 (1992)
• Deal v. United States · 508 U.S. 129 (1993)
• Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones · 411 U.S. 145 (1973)
• Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs v. Greenwich Collieries · 512 U.S. 267 (1994)
• Posadas v. National City Bank · 296 U.S. 497 (1936)
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 759 (1985)
• County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes & Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation · 502 U.S. 251 (1992)
• United States v. Sandoval · 231 U.S. 28 (1913)
• Branch v. Smith · 538 U.S. 254 (2003)
• Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico · 490 U.S. 163 (1989)
• Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley · 532 U.S. 645 (2001)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Bostock v. Clayton County · 590 U.S. 644 (2020)
• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak · 567 U.S. 209 (2012)
• Jam v. International Finance Corp. · 586 U.S. 199 (2019)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Corley v. United States · 556 U.S. 303 (2009)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2009). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).