US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

A statute enlarged the class of beneficiaries of certain royalties from oil and gas leases in the Aneth Extension of the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah by providing that the funds be used to benefit all Navajo Indians residing in San Juan County, rather than only those residing in the Aneth Extension, as provided in an earlier statute.

Held: As the earlier statute did not create constitutionally protected property rights in the residents of the Aneth Extension, the statutory change did not constitute a taking of property without just compensation.

Reversed.