Cite as: 530 U. S. 392 (2000)
Opinion of the Court
II(D)(5) . . . ." 460 U. S., at 631 (emphasis added). That Arizona II contains no discussion of preclusion with respect to the disputed lands is hardly surprising, given that the State parties neglected to raise that issue until six years later.
The Court did note in Arizona II that in the District Court proceedings the United States had asserted defenses based on "lack of standing, the absence of indispensable parties, sovereign immunity, and the applicable statute of limitations," and added that "[t]here will be time enough, if any of these grounds for dismissal are sustained and not overturned on appellate review, to determine whether the boundary issues foreclosed by such [lower court] action are nevertheless open for litigation in this Court." 460 U. S., at 638 (emphasis added). This passage, however, is most sensibly read to convey that the defenses just mentioned—standing, indispensable parties, sovereign immunity, and the statute of limitations—would not necessarily affect renewed litigation in this Court. The passage contains no acknowledgment, express or implied, of a lurking preclusion issue stemming from our Arizona I disposition.
Moreover, and of large significance, the 1979 and 1984 supplemental decrees anticipated that the disputed boundary issues for all five reservations, including the Fort Yuma Reservation, would be "finally determined" in some forum, not by preclusion but on the merits. See 1984 Supplemental Decree, Art. II(D)(5), Arizona v. California, 466 U. S., at 145 (Water rights for all five reservations "shall be subject to appropriate adjustments by agreement or decree of this Court in the event that the boundaries of the respective reservations are finally determined."); 1979 Supplemental Decree, Art. II(D)(5), Arizona v. California, 439 U. S., at 421 (same).
The State parties themselves stipulated to the terms of the supplemental decree we entered in 1979. They also appear to have litigated the Arizona II proceedings on the un-
411
Page: Index Previous 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007