Veneno v. United States
Headline: Court declines to reconsider the 1886 Kagama rule, denying review and leaving broad federal power over Native American tribes' internal affairs unchanged, despite a justice’s dissent urging correction.
Holding:
- Leaves current federal authority over tribal criminal matters unchanged for now.
- Keeps Major Crimes Act’s federal reach intact unless the Court reopens review.
- Signals possibility of future Supreme Court reconsideration but no immediate legal change.
Summary
Background
Quentin Veneno Jr. asked the Supreme Court to review a Tenth Circuit decision about federal criminal authority on tribal land. The Court denied the petition for review. Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justice Thomas, dissented from that denial and urged the Court to revisit the 1886 Kagama decision and the Major Crimes Act of 1885, which he said asserts sweeping federal control over tribal criminal matters.
Reasoning
Justice Gorsuch explained why he thinks Kagama lacks constitutional support. He said the original decision rejected the government's Commerce Clause defense, relied instead on the Territories Clause and an imported European
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