Babbitt v. Youpee

519 U.S. 234, 117 S. Ct. 727, 136 L. Ed. 2d 696, 1997 U.S. LEXIS 469
CourtSupreme Court of the United States
DecidedJanuary 21, 1997
Docket95-1595
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 519 U.S. 234 (Babbitt v. Youpee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Babbitt v. Youpee, 519 U.S. 234, 117 S. Ct. 727, 136 L. Ed. 2d 696, 1997 U.S. LEXIS 469 (1997).

Opinions

Justice Ginsburg

delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this case, we consider for a second time the constitutionality of an escheat-to-tribe provision of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA). 96 Stat. 2519, as amended, 25 U. S. C. § 2206. Specifically, we address § 207 of the ILCA, as amended in 1984. Congress enacted the original provi[237]*237sion in 1983 to ameliorate the extreme fractionation problem attending a century-old allotment policy that yielded multiple ownership of single parcels of Indian land. Pub. L. 97-459, §207, 96 Stat. 2519. Amended §207 provides that certain small interests in Indian lands will transfer — or “escheat” — to the tribe upon the death of the owner of the interest. Pub. L. 98-608, 98 Stat. 3173. In Hodel v. Irving, 481 U. S. 704 (1987), this Court held that the original version of §207 of the ILCA effected a taking of private property without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Id., at 716-718. We now hold that amended § 207 does not cure the constitutional deficiency this Court identified in the original version of §207.

I

In the late Nineteenth Century, Congress initiated an Indian land program that authorized the division of communal Indian property. Pursuant to this allotment policy, some Indian land was parcelled out to individual tribal members. Lands not allotted to individual Indians were opened to non-Indians for settlement. See Indian General Allotment Act of 1887, eh. 119, 24 Stat. 388. Allotted lands were held in trust by the United States or owned by the allottee subject to restrictions on alienation. On the death of the allottee, the land descended according to the laws of the State or Territory in which the land was located. 24 Stat. 389. In 1910, Congress also provided that allottees could devise their interests in allotted land. Act of June 25, 1910, ch. 431, §2, 36 Stat. 856, codified as amended, 25 U. S. C. § 373.

The allotment policy “quickly proved disastrous for the Indians.” Irving, 481 U. S., at 707. The program produced a dramatic decline in the amount of land in Indian hands. F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law 138 (1982) (hereinafter Cohen). And as allottees passed their interests on to multiple heirs, ownership of allotments became increasingly fractionated, with some parcels held by dozens of owners. [238]*238Lawson, Heirship: The Indian Amoeba, reprinted in Hearing on S. 2480 and S. 2663 before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, 98th Cong., 2d Sess., 77 (1984) (hereinafter Lawson). A number of factors augmented the problem: Because Indians often died without wills, many interests passed to multiple heirs, H. R. Rep. No. 97-908, p. 10 (1982); Congress’ allotment Acts subjected trust lands to alienation restrictions that impeded holders of small interests from transferring those interests, Lawson 78-79; Indian lands were not subject to state real estate taxes, Cohen 406, which ordinarily serve as a strong disincentive to retaining small fractional interests in land. The fractionation problem proliferated with each succeeding generation as multiple heirs took undivided interests in allotments.

The administrative difficulties associated with multiple undivided ownership in allotted lands gained official attention as early as 1928. See L. Meriam, Institute for Government Research, The Problem of Indian Administration 40-41 (1928). Governmental administration of these fractionated interests proved costly, and individual owners of small undivided interests could not make productive use of the land. Congress ended further allotment in 1934. See Indian Reorganization Act, ch. 576, 48 Stat. 984, 25 U. S. C. § 461 et seq. But that action left the legacy in place. As most owners had more than one heir, interests in lands already allotted continued to splinter with each generation. In the 1960’s, congressional studies revealed that approximately half of all allotted trust lands were held in fractionated ownership; for over a quarter of allotted trust lands, individual allotments were held by more than six owners to a parcel. See Irving, 481 U. S., at 708-709 (citing Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Indian Heirship Land Survey, 86th Cong., 2d Sess., pt. 2, p. x (Comm. Print 1960-1961)).

In 1983, Congress adopted-the fractionated ownership of allotted lands. Pub. L. 97-459, tit. [239]*239II, 96 Stat. 2517. Section 207 of the ILCA — the “escheat” provision — prohibited the descent or devise of small fractional interests in allotments. 96 Stat. 2519.1 Instead of passing to heirs, such fractional interests would escheat to the tribe, thereby consolidating the ownership of Indian lands. Congress defined the targeted fractional interest as one that both constituted 2 percent or less of the total acreage in an allotted tract and had earned less than $100 in the preceding year. Section 207 made no provision for the payment of compensation to those who held such interests.

Hodel v. Irving, this Court invalidated §207 on the ground that it effected a taking of property without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment. 481 U. S., at 716-718. The appellees in Irving were, or represented, heirs or devisees of members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. But for §207, the appellees would have received 41 fractional interests in allotments; under § 207, those interests would escheat to the Tribe. Id., at 709-710. This Court tested the legitimacy of §207 by considering its economic impact, its effect on investment-backed expectations, and the essential character of the measure. See id., at 713-718; see also Penn Central Transp. Co. v. New York City, 438 U. S. 104, 124 (1978). Turning first to the economic impact of §207, the Court in Irving observed that the provision’s income-generation test might fail to capture the actual economic value of the land. 481 U. S., at 714. The Court next indicated that § 207 likely did not interfere with investment-backed expectations. Id., at 715. Key to the decision in Irving, however, was the “extraordinary” character of the [240]*240Government regulation. Id., at 716. As this Court noted, §207 amounted to the “virtual 1] abrogation of the right to pass on a certain type of property.” Ibid. Such a complete abrogation of the rights of descent and devise could not be upheld. Id., at 716-717.

II

In 1984, while Irving was still pending in the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Congress amended §207. Pub. L. 96-608, § 1(4), 98 Stat. 3173.2 Amended §207 differs from the original escheat provision in three relevant respects. First, an interest is considered fractional if it both [241]

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Bluebook (online)
519 U.S. 234, 117 S. Ct. 727, 136 L. Ed. 2d 696, 1997 U.S. LEXIS 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/babbitt-v-youpee-scotus-1997.