Ex parte Crow Dog
Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U.S. 556 (1883), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that followed the death of one member of a Native American tribe at the hands of another on reservation land. Crow Dog was a member of the Brulé band of the Lakota Sioux. On August 5, 1881 he shot and killed Spotted Tail, a Lakota chief; there are different accounts of the background to the killing. The tribal council dealt with the incident according to Sioux tradition, and Crow Dog paid restitution to the dead man's family. However, the U.S. authorities then prosecuted Crow Dog for murder in a federal court. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang.
| Ex parte Crow Dog | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued November 26, 1883 Decided December 17, 1883 | |
| Full case name | Ex parte Kan-gi-shun-ca (otherwise known as Crow Dog) |
| Citations | 109 U.S. 556 (more) 3 S. Ct. 396; 27 L. Ed. 1030; 1883 U.S. LEXIS 997 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | U.S. v. Kan-gi-shun-ca, 14 N.W. 437, 3 Dakota 106 (Dakota Terr. 1882) |
| Holding | |
| Held that a federal court did not have jurisdiction to try an Indian who killed another Indian on the reservation when the offense had been tried by the tribal court, writ of habeas corpus granted. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Matthews, joined by unanimous |
| Laws applied | |
| Revised Stat. §2146 (1878) | |
The defendant then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the federal court had no jurisdiction to try cases where the offense had already been tried by the tribal council. The court found unanimously for the plaintiff and Crow Dog was therefore released. This case was the first time in history that an Indian was held on trial for the murder of another Indian. The case led to the Major Crimes Act in 1885, which placed some major crimes (initially seven, now 15) under federal jurisdiction if committed by an Indian against another Indian on a reservation or tribal land. This case was the beginning of the plenary power legal doctrine that has been used in Indian case law to limit tribal sovereignty.