## Facts

- Smith John, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, assaulted Artis Jenkins on lands set aside as a Choctaw reservation in central Mississippi and held in trust by the United States.
- A federal grand jury indicted John for assault with intent to kill under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 and 113(a); he was convicted in federal court of the lesser-included offense of simple assault and sentenced to 90 days’ confinement and a $300 fine.
- Mississippi separately prosecuted Smith John (and another Choctaw defendant) in state court for assault with intent to kill arising from the same incident.
- The Fifth Circuit, on its own motion, held the reservation lands were not “Indian country” and ordered the federal indictment dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
- The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the state’s criminal jurisdiction, rejecting the claim that the lands were Indian country.
- The Supreme Court granted review in both cases and decided them together.

## Issues

1. Whether the Choctaw reservation lands in Mississippi are “Indian country” under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(a) for purposes of the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153.
2. If the lands are Indian country, whether § 1153 gives the United States exclusive criminal jurisdiction over enumerated major crimes committed by Indians there, precluding Mississippi’s jurisdiction.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court (Blackmun, J., unanimous) held the Choctaw trust lands set aside as a reservation are “Indian country” under § 1151(a).
- The Court held the Major Crimes Act provides exclusive federal jurisdiction over the enumerated offenses committed by Indians in Indian country; Mississippi lacked power to prosecute the same major offense.
- The Court reversed and remanded the Fifth Circuit’s judgment dismissing the federal case and reversed the Mississippi Supreme Court’s judgment sustaining the state prosecution.

## Legal Principles

- “Indian country” under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(a) includes land within the limits of any Indian reservation under United States jurisdiction, including lands held in trust for a tribe and formally set aside as a reservation.
- A tribe’s “remnant” status and lapses in the continuity of federal supervision do not negate federal authority to recognize the tribe and apply federal Indian-country criminal statutes to reservation lands.
- Under 18 U.S.C. § 1153, enumerated major crimes committed by an Indian in Indian country fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, displacing state criminal jurisdiction absent congressional authorization.

## Conclusion

The Court ruled that the Mississippi Choctaw reservation is Indian country and that the Major Crimes Act confers exclusive federal jurisdiction over covered crimes committed by Indians there, invalidating Mississippi’s prosecution and reinstating federal jurisdiction.


United States v. John, 437 U.S. 634 (1978)