MADISON COUNTY v. ONEIDA INDIAN NATION

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
10-72
Petitioner 
Madison County, New York
Respondent 
Oneida Indian Nation
Decided By 
Roberts Court (2010- )
Opinion 
562 U.S. ___ (2011)
Granted 
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Decided 
Monday, January 10, 2011
Term:
Location: 42.980598, -75.806908
Facts of the Case 

In 2005, U.S. District Judge David Hurd barred Oneida and Madison counties in New York from foreclosing on Oneida Indian Nation-owned properties on which taxes haven't been paid. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed, noting that the counties don't have the right to sue an Indian tribe unless Congress has authorized the lawsuit or the tribe has waived its legal immunity.

Question 

(1)Does tribal sovereign immunity from suit prevent taxing authorities from foreclosing to collect lawfully imposed property taxes?

(2) Is the ancient Oneida reservation in New York disestablished or diminished?

Conclusion 
Decision: 8 votes for Madison County, 0 vote(s) against
Legal provision: None

In a per curiam decision, the Court vacated the judgment below. Because the Oneida Nation waived its sovereign immunity, the Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for further proceedings in light of the waiver. Justice Sonia Sotomayor took no part in the consideration or decision in the case.

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MADISON COUNTY v. ONEIDA INDIAN NATION. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 26 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2010/2010_10_72>.
MADISON COUNTY v. ONEIDA INDIAN NATION, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2010/2010_10_72 (last visited April 26, 2013).
"MADISON COUNTY v. ONEIDA INDIAN NATION," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 26, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/2010-2019/2010/2010_10_72.