United States v. Buchanan

Background

The case involves a defendant indicted under an 1885 statute that made it unlawful to prevent any person from entering or establishing a settlement on public land open to settlement or entry. The indictment alleged the defendant prevented the heirs of a deceased homesteader from entering "homesteaded lands." The record shows the homesteader, Moore, had entered the quarter-section at the land office, occupied it for three years, and his heirs maintained the homestead after his death. The lower court judgment was appealed to this Court.

Reasoning

The Court addressed whether land already entered under a homestead claim but not yet patented still counted as "public land" under the federal statute. Looking at the statute’s text and history, and prior practice, the Court explained that the law was aimed at open public domain and unlawful enclosures before entry. Once a person had made the required settlement and entry at the land office, the quarter-section was withdrawn from the public domain and the homesteader held a possessory or inceptive title. Because the statutory prohibitions applied only to public lands subject to entry or settlement, they did not reach interference with a homesteader’s possession after entry.

Real world impact

The decision means people who have entered land under a homestead claim and live on it cannot rely on this federal statute to punish third-party interference; instead, their possessory rights are protected by ordinary legal actions and state remedies. The Court noted Congress could have extended federal protection until patent issuance but did not do so. Judgment affirmed.