October Term 2000 · Docket 00-454

Can a tribe tax nonmembers on fee land?

Atkinson Trading seeks to stop a tribal tax on a nonmember sale.

Official caption
Atkinson Trading Co. v. Shirley
Latest argument session
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Argued
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Official Transcript

Verified source milestones

  1. — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.

The arguments, in order

This case may have been argued more than once. Each entry below uses that session's official transcript. Later arguments do not erase earlier ones.

  1. Argument 1 ·

    What happened at the argument

    Mr. Cole stated the core legal question.

    Ms. Brinkmann distinguished this case from Strate.

    Mr. Gomez offered a brief opening statement.

    Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details

    Sources used for this argument breakdown

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

The dispute centers on tribal taxing power over nonmembers.

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How the case got here

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on March 27, 2001.

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What each side wants

Atkinson Trading wants the tax struck down.

Shirley wants the tax to remain valid.

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What each side says

Atkinson argues the tribe lacks authority over fee land.

Shirley argues the tribe controls the reservation area.

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What the justices asked

Chief Justice Rehnquist asked about the case status.

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Why it matters

This case defines tribal tax limits on private land.

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What happens next

This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity.

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Official Court provenance

Official docket and case history · Official Supreme Court oral-argument detail page

Title and summary sources

Revision history

  1. Revision 1 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.

  2. Revision 2 · Official Transcript ·

    Correction: Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.

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