The Supreme Court case Strate v. A-1 Contractors centered around a dispute over the jurisdiction of tribal courts in civil matters involving non-members on public highways running through reservations. The incident that sparked this case was a car accident between Lyle Stockert, an employee of A-1 Contractors, and Maynard Friedt on North Dakota Highway 24 within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Both parties were nonmembers of the Three Affiliated Tribes but Friedt's widow sought damages from Stockert and his employer in Tribal Court. The defendants challenged this arguing that as state highway, it fell under state jurisdiction not tribal. In its decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Tribal court’s authority to adjudicate such cases stating that while tribes retain inherent sovereignty independent of Congress' plenary power unless divested by treaty or statute; they cannot exercise civil jurisdiction over activities conducted by non-members on lands owned in fee simple (like public highways) unless those activities have significant direct effects on political integrity or welfare of tribe which wasn't applicable here.

In the dissenting opinion for Strate v. A-1 Contractors, Justice Ginsburg argued that tribal courts should have jurisdiction over civil disputes involving nonmembers on state highways running through reservations. She contended that the majority's decision undermined tribal self-government and ignored precedent recognizing inherent sovereignty of tribes over their lands. Ginsburg pointed out that Congress had not explicitly divested tribes of this authority, and she disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Montana v. United States as limiting tribal jurisdiction to only members or those who voluntarily associate with them. Instead, she believed Montana allowed for broader exercise of tribal power in matters affecting tribe’s political integrity, economic security or health/welfare; a category into which traffic accidents could fall given potential impact on public safety resources and community welfare.