Marks v. United States

Citations

• 161 U.S. 297
• 16 S. Ct. 476
• 40 L. Ed. 706
• 1896 U.S. LEXIS 2164
• 31 Ct. Cl. 453

Syllabus

<p>When a petition filed in the Court of Claims alleges that a depredation was committed by an Indian or Indians belonging to a tribe in amity with the United States, it becomes the duty of that court to inquire as to the truth of that allegation, and its truth is not determined by the mere existence of a treaty between the United States and the tribe, or by the fact that such treaty has never been formally abrogated by a declaration of war on the part of either, but the inquiry is whether, as a matter of fact, the tribe was at the time, as a tribe, in a state of actual peace with the United States: and if it appears that the depredation was committed by a single individual, or a few individuals without the consent and against the knowledge of the tribe, the court may proceed to investigate the amount of the loss, and render judgment therefor; but if, on the other hand, the tribe, as a tribe, was engaged in actual hostilities with the United States, . the judgment of the Court of Claims must be that the allegation of the petition is not sustained, and that the claim is not one within its province to adjudicate. .</p> <p>Johnson v. United States, 160 U. S. 516, affirmed to the point that, by clause 2 of section 1 of the act of March 3, 1891, c. 538, 26 Stat. 851, the jurisdiction of the Court of Claims was limited to claims which, on March 3, 1885, had either been examined and allowed by the Department of the Interior, or were then pending therein for examination.</p>