In the case of South Carolina et al. v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc., 1985, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a federal law from 1953 terminated all aboriginal title in South Carolina and thus ended any special relationship between the federal government and the Catawba tribe. The court held that this termination meant that state laws could apply to tribal lands without violating any rights of sovereignty or self-governance because those rights no longer existed for this tribe under federal law. This decision was significant as it clarified how courts should interpret statutes related to Native American tribes and their land rights when there is ambiguity about whether Congress intended to terminate a tribe's status or not.

In the dissenting opinion for South Carolina et al. v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc., Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the 1959 termination act and its impact on the tribe's land claims under federal common law. He argued that Congress did not intend to terminate all federal protection for tribal lands when it passed this legislation, but rather sought to end only certain aspects of federal supervision over these lands while preserving others. In his view, this included maintaining a trust relationship between the government and tribes regarding their property rights which would allow them to pursue legal remedies if those rights were violated. Therefore, he believed that state laws should not be applied retroactively in such cases as they could potentially undermine these protections by extinguishing valid land claims without due process or just compensation.