October Term 2011 · Docket 11-246

Can a private citizen sue to stop the federal government from placing land into tribal trust?

A private citizen claims the federal government violated the law by placing land into tribal trust. The tribe argues the citizen lacks legal standing to challenge that action.

Official caption: Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak
Latest argument session: 2012-04-24
Latest official Court activity: 2012-04-24
Latest verified event: Argued
Sources analyzed through: Official Transcript

Verified source milestones

2026-08-29 — An official oral-argument transcript was verified.
2026-08-29 — 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.

Argument 1 · 2012-04-24

What happened at the argument
The tribe's counsel argued the suit suffers from jurisdictional defects. They cited sovereign immunity as a bar to the lawsuit. They stated the government has not waived immunity for such claims.
The citizen's counsel argued this is a classic Administrative Procedure Act action. They claimed the citizen is challenging unlawful agency action. They distinguished this from a quiet title action.
Justice Ginsburg questioned whether the tribe agreed judicial review was available. She noted the tribe's brief said the case was not about review availability. She asked about standing if a tribe was not under federal jurisdiction.
Justice Kagan noted the statute promotes economic development. She said this depends on understanding how tribes use the land. She implied the statute requires specific knowledge of land use.

Read the official transcript for this argument · Official argument details
Sources used for this argument breakdown
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 11-31 — Transcript, file page 10, lines 11-31
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 10, lines 41-49 — Transcript, file page 10, lines 41-49
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 19, lines 9-35 — Transcript, file page 19, lines 9-35
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 29, lines 49-21 — Transcript, file page 29, lines 49-21
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 19-47 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 19-47
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 49-13 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 49-13
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 7-17 — Transcript, file page 4, lines 7-17
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 31-33 — Transcript, file page 5, lines 31-33
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 49-11 — Transcript, file page 5, lines 49-11
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 59, lines 5-17 — Transcript, file page 59, lines 5-17
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 21-3 — Transcript, file page 6, lines 21-3
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 13-15 — Transcript, file page 7, lines 13-15
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 29-37 — Transcript, file page 7, lines 29-37
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 27-49 — Transcript, file page 8, lines 27-49
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 9-11 — Transcript, file page 8, lines 9-11
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 13-29 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 13-29
- Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 41-49 — Transcript, file page 9, lines 41-49

A citizen's guide to the whole case

What this case is about

The dispute centers on whether a private citizen can sue the federal government over its decision to place land into tribal trust. The citizen argues the government acted unlawfully. The tribe argues the citizen lacks legal standing to bring this suit.