Opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, at January Term, 1832, Delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall in the Case of Samuel A. Worcester, Plaintiff in Error, versus the State of Georgia With a Statement of the Case, Extracted from the Records of the Supreme Court of the United States

In January 1832 the nation’s highest court convened to hear a dispute that still echoes in today’s discussions of sovereignty and federal authority. Chief Justice John Marshall presides over the case of Samuel Worcester, a settler accused by Georgia of living within Cherokee territory without a state licence. The record opens with a meticulous chain of official documents—writs, citations, and a detailed indictment—that reveal the tension between state law and the rights claimed by the Cherokee Nation.

The heart of the hearing revolves around a fundamental question: can a state prosecute a person for actions that occurred on lands governed by a separate, sovereign nation? As Worcester argues that the alleged offenses happened inside Cherokee jurisdiction, the court must untangle layers of early American legal doctrine, territorial boundaries, and the obligations of citizenship. Listeners will hear the precise language of 19th‑century legal proceedings and gain insight into the foundational debates that shaped the United States’ approach to Native American relations.