Worcester v. Georgia

31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P is a citizen of the state of Vermont, condemned to hard labor for four years in the penitentiary of Georgia; under colour of an act which he alleges to be repugnant to the constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States. The indictment charged P and another missionary, Butler with being white persons, with the offence of 'residing within the limits of the Cherokee nation without a license,' and 'without having taken the oath to support and defend the constitution and laws of the state of Georgia.' P says, that, he was, and still is, a resident in the Cherokee nation; and that the said supposed crime or crimes, and each of them, were committed, if committed at all, at the town of New Echota, in the said Cherokee nation, out of the jurisdiction of this court. P said that he is a citizen of the state of Vermont, one of the United States of America and that he entered the Cherokee nation in the capacity of a duly authorized missionary and at the time of his arrest, engaged in preaching the gospel to the Cherokee Indians, and in translating the sacred scriptures into their language, with their permission and approval. P claims Georgia has no authority in this matter because several treaties have, from time to time, been entered into between the United States and the Cherokee Nation of Indians. All of which have been duly ratified by the senate of the United States and that Cherokee nation is a sovereign nation, authorized to govern themselves, and all persons who have settled within their territory, free from any right of legislative interference by the several states composing the United States of America. P plead not guilty to the indictment. A jury found him guilty and he was sentenced. D offered a pardon but P refused. P appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court.