Nevada v. Hicks

Hicks (plaintiff), a member of the Shoshone Tribe, lived on a Nevada reservation. Suspecting Hicks of poaching bighorn sheep, Nevada (defendant) obtained a warrant and searched his home on the reservation with tribal consent, finding nothing. Hicks sued Nevada in tribal court for trespass, abuse of process, and a federal civil-rights violation, and the tribal courts upheld their own jurisdiction. Nevada then sued in federal district court for a declaration that the tribal court lacked jurisdiction over its officials, but the district court and the Ninth Circuit sided with the tribal court, reasoning that the reservation land itself supported jurisdiction. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.