Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

517 U.S. 44 (1996)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
S
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

United States Supreme Court
517 U.S. 44 (1996)

Play video

Facts

In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), providing that Native American tribes could conduct only certain gaming activities pursuant to a valid compact between the tribe and the state in which the gaming activities were located. IGRA imposes on states a duty to negotiate with tribes in good faith for the purpose of forming a compact and authorizes tribes to bring suit in federal court against states to compel performance of that duty. In 1991, the Seminole Tribe of Florida (plaintiff) brought suit against the State of Florida and its governor (defendants) in district court alleging that Florida refused to enter into any negotiations with the tribe for the establishment of gaming activities and therefore violated IGRA. Florida moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that IGRA violated Florida’s sovereign immunity. The district court denied Florida’s motion to dismiss, but the Eleventh Circuit court of appeals reversed. The Seminole Tribe of Florida appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rehnquist, C.J.)

Dissent (Souter, J.)

Dissent (Stevens, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law
Federal Courts
Gaming Law
Indian Law

Key Terms