Montana v. Crow Tribe of Indians
523 U.S. 696 · Decided May 18, 1998 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Montana v. Crow Tribe of Indians was decided on May 18, 1998 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Indians, state jurisdiction” in the Civil Rights area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 523 U.S. 696 · 118 S. Ct. 1650 · 140 L. Ed. 2d 898 · 1998 U.S. LEXIS 3333
- Docket number
- 96-1829
- Decided
- May 18, 1998
- Argued
- February 24, 1998
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Indians, state jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Montana, et al. v. Crow Tribe of Indians et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1997-066, docket 1997-066-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Indians, state jurisdiction”
- Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.
- Cass County v. Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
- Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government
- South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe
- William Strate v. A-1 Contractors and Lyle Stockert
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Chickasaw Nation
Same Term, same area (Civil Rights)
- Carson Lynn Brown v. R. Williams
- City of Monroe v. United States
- Murphy J. Foster, Jr. v. G. Scott LoveLaw held unconstitutional
- Lynne Kalina v. Rodney Fletcher
- South Dakota v. Yankton Sioux Tribe
- Dolores M. Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc.
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error