Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

American Indians And The Burger Court, John R. Hermann, Karen O'Connor

Political Science Faculty Research

Objective. Like many politically disadvantaged groups, American Indian interests have turned to the courts when they lack access or clout in the electoral process. Unlike many ocher disadvantaged groups, the litigation activities of American Indian interests have failed to garner much scholarly attention. The purpose of this research is to examine how American Indian interests fared before the Burger Court (1969-85 October terms). Methods. The 63 full opinion cases regarding issues critical to American Indian interests were identified by examining the United States Reports. Each case was coded as whether or not the Court decided in favor of …