Question

Stare decisis, the Latin term meaning "let the decision stand," is the practice of _____ when making new court decisions.

Select the best answer to the questions below from the choices provided.
a)ignoring former court decisions
b)following precedents
c)following the decision of the heart
d)appealing precedents

Answer 1

This are my notes but I dont find the answer here help!!


The Constitution of the United States

The Constitution of the United States was drafted at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and was formally adopted in 1789. The Constitution set up a government based on popular sovereignty - the idea that the power of the government rests with the people.

The Constitution divides the power of the government into three branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. Each branch has specific duties to fulfill as well as several special powers over the other branches. This serves as a system of checks and balances and ensures that one branch cannot control the entire government. The three branches have specific responsibilities to Native people and tribes, too.

The executive branch is made up of the president, vice president, and all of the federal bureaus, offices, and departments. Some of the duties of the executive branch are negotiating treaties under presidential authority and enforcing the laws passed by the legislative branch. The executive branch negotiated treaties with Native American tribes.

The legislative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together, they are referred to as Congress. Some of their duties include making laws and legislation, and ratifying treaties made by the executive branch. Treaties must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate to become legal. Congress ratified treaties made between the federal government and Native tribes.

The judicial branch consists of all the different levels of the federal court system. This includes federal circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. The judicial branch's main duty is interpreting the laws passed by the legislative branch. It also interprets treaties and makes rulings over litigation regarding them. However, the courts do not have the authority to enforce these rulings. That task is done by the executive branch. Many times, the courts have ruled on cases involving treaties between the federal government and Native American tribes.

Enumerated Powers are specific powers delegated to the federal government in the Constitution. As the Constitution is written, any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government, or specifically denied to the state governments, rest with the states. The Constitution specifically gives the federal government the power to deal with Native American groups in regards to making treaties, governing them, and regulating trade on tribal lands. States do not have the power to do these things.

The Constitution does not define the exact nature of the relationship between the U.S. government and American Indian tribes. However, the Constitution provides the federal government with the authority to deal with the tribes as a "unique" form of government. Tribal nations have this "unique" status because they were not created by the U.S. government (like states), nor were they considered foreign nations (like France, Spain, and England). Below are sections of the Constitution that address relations with tribal nations:



Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 - Indian Commerce Clause

(Congress shall have the power to) regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes
These are the main points from the above excerpt:

Provides the federal government authority to regulate trade with the Indian tribes
Forms the Constitutional basis for the nation-to-nation status native nations have with the federal government
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 - Presidential Powers

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
This is the main point from the above excerpt:

Provides the president with the power, given the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties
Article III, Section 2, Clause 1 - Judicial Powers

The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority...
This is the main point from above excerpt:

Provides the Supreme Court with the power to review and preside over treaty decisions
Article VI, Clause 2 - Supremacy Clause

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
This is the point from the excerpt above:

Elevates treaties to the same level of the Constitution as "the supreme law of the land."
Native tribes are more than a unique cultural or ethnic group: tribal nations that are legal and political entities that are sovereign. The Constitution provides the foundation for a unique nation-to-nation relationship between tribes and the federal government. The above sections of the Constitution have influenced court decisions and government actions regarding tribal nations.


Chief Justice John Marshall

Important Supreme Court Cases

The Supreme Court interprets many laws and the Constitution. The Supreme Court bases its verdicts on a system of precedents. Stare decisis - the Latin phrase that means "let the decision stand" - is the term that defines the process of ruling on new court cases using past precedents. Decisions of court cases of the past influence the decisions of new court cases.

Supreme Court cases involving Native American tribes have set precedents influencing the relationships between the federal government and Native nations. Three such cases have become known as the Marshall Trilogy because Chief Justice John Marshall presided over them during his tenure at the Supreme Court (1801-1835). The Marshall Trilogy forms the basis of federal/tribal relations to this day.

The first case in the Marshall Trilogy is Johnson v. McIntosh (1823). In the time before this case, tribal leaders granted land to different settlers and individuals. The Supreme Court held that these grants were invalid because the discovering party (in this case, the federal government) had "the sole right of acquiring soil from the natives...." The court decided that a grant of land from tribal chiefs to individual U.S. citizens was illegal, as the "right of discovery" gave the federal government the sole right to acquire land from the tribes. On the other hand, the court upheld the right of Native people to occupy the land on which they dwelled; this right is called "aboriginal title." However, the discovering party could abolish the title "by purchase or conquest."

The second case in the Marshall Trilogy is Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), in which the the Cherokee sued Georgia on the grounds that the state did not have legal jurisdiction over the tribe, whose traditional lands stretched from modern Alabama to Georgia and from Kentucky to South Carolina. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee, and Marshall stated that American Indian tribes were "dependent domestic nations." He also recognized that a tribe could act as a "distinct political society…capable of managing its own affairs." In regard to the relationship between the federal government and the tribes, Marshall stated that it "resembles that of a ward to his guardian."

The last case in the Marshall Trilogy is Worcester v. Georgia (1832), in which two missionaries sued the state of Georgia over a law that required all non-Native people living on tribal land to register with the state. The Supreme Court declared that the Cherokee Nation, although not a foreign state, was a "distinct community, occupying its own territory." Marshall went on to conclude that state law had no bearing on tribal lands, and that the federal government should protect tribal people, land, and rights from encroachment by outsiders.

Even though the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee Nation in the two latter cases, President Andrew Jackson defied the decisions. Eventually, he sent in federal troops and they forcibly removed the Cherokee from their lands. This tragic event has become known as the Trail of Tears.

Another key case in setting precedents for tribal relations was Lone Wolf v. Hitchwingspan (1903). The Supreme Court found that a treaty provision could not limit the ability of Congress to act "in respect to the care and protection of the Indians." This confirmed the plenary, or overriding, authority of the U.S. Congress implied by the trust relationship between the federal government and tribes.

The plenary power of Congress has been a double-edged sword for American Indian tribes. It has been used both for and against federal interests, depending on the views of the American public. When tribal sovereignty is seen as getting in the way of federal or state interests, plenary power can be used to override tribal interests. As the Supreme Court makes rulings, the concept of Tribal sovereignty continues to evolve.


Trust Relationships

The term "trust" appears in U.S. laws regarding Native American people. In the context of the relationship between tribes and the federal government, the term trust means that one entity (the federal government) keeps or takes care of something (money, resources) for another entity (the tribes).

The Supreme Court case United States v. Kagama (1886) established that trust relationships were based on treaties. The case also affirmed that the the nation-to-nation relationships between the federal government and Native American tribes were defined in three places in the Constitution: the Indian Commerce Clause, Presidential Powers Clause, and Supremacy Clause.

The trust responsibilities of the federal government to Native American people have been established by court cases throughout the legal history of this country. The federal court system has defined four types of trust responsibilities: general, limited, express, and implicit.

A general trust is when the federal government is obligated to act in the best interest of Native American tribes but does not require a financial responsibility on the part of the federal government. A limited trust is when the federal government is required to act on behalf of the tribes for a specific period of time, and does not require a financial responsibility on the part of the federal government either. An express trust is when the law states that the federal government will manage financial resources for tribal nations. In this type of trust, the federal government has specific responsibilities including financial duties. An implicit trust is when the federal government has clear control and supervision over tribal resources, and language is not needed to determine the trust relationship. This type of trust may also include a financial obligation.

Answer 2

I Think is A or B ! @markchernioglo

Answer 3

I would say B. :)

Answer 4

Thanks!

Answer 5

No problem! Any time! :)