U.S. v. Wheeler

U.S. v. Wheeler (1978) was a Supreme Court case that addressed whether the federal government could prosecute an enrolled member of a Native American tribe for a crime committed on tribal land, even if the tribe’s own authorities had already tried him. The Court ruled that Native Americans retain certain sovereign rights, and both federal and tribal governments can enforce laws independently on tribal land—this concept is known as “dual sovereignty.” Essentially, it established that federal prosecution does not violate the tribe’s autonomy, allowing both jurisdictions to operate without infringing on each other’s authority.