The Supreme Court has been asked repeatedly to address the constitutionality( relevance to the constitution ), of the IRA. In 1995, the Eighth Circuit declared the IRA unconstitutional.[4] The U.S. Department of the Interior sought U.S. Supreme Court review. The DOI then implemented new regulations and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to remand the case to the lower courts to reconsider their decision based on the new regulations. The U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition, vacated the lower court's ruling and remanded the case back to the lower court. Justices Scalia, O'Connor and Thomas dissented and stated that "[t]he decision today--to grant, vacate, and remand in light of the Government's changed position--is both unprecedented and inexplicable." and "[w]hat makes today's action inexplicable as well as unprecedented is the fact that the Government's change of legal position does not even purport to be applicable to the present case."[5] Seven months after the Supreme Court's decision to grant, vacate, and remand, the DOI removed the land from trust. In 1997 the Tribe submitted an amended application to the Secretary, requesting that the United States take the land into trust on the Tribe's behalf. The Eighth Circuit reexamined the constitutionality issue and affirmed the IRA's constitutionality.
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