Appeals from state governments make up more than a dozen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in its upcoming term.

Two of the cases are disputes between states and tribes and Native Hawaiians. States are usually on the winning end of the stick, going by past Supreme Court cases.

One case, Carcieri v. Kempthorne, will determine whether the Interior Department can acquire land for tribes that weren't recognized in 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. The outcome also will determine whether the state of Rhode Island can exercise jurisdiction on lands acquired by the Narragansett Tribe.

The second case, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, is a new addition to the docket. The state says it should be able to sell, transfer or exchange 1.2 million acres of Native Hawaiian lands without resolving pending Native claims.

Get the Story:
At high court, states' authority in question (Stateline.org 10/2)

Related Stories:
Supreme Court to near Native Hawaiian case (10/1)
Supreme Court considers Indian law cases (9/30)
SCOTUSBlog: Supreme Court < petitions to watch (09/19)
SCOTUSBlog: Narragansett land-into-trust case (9/17)
Turtle Talk: Review of pending Supreme Court cases (09/05)