 The case then went to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals . The western states of Utah , New Mexico , Montana , North Dakota and Wyoming filed amici curiae briefs in support of the oil companies , while the Navajo Nation , the Arapahoe Nation , the Shoshone Indian Tribe , the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes , the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation , and the National Congress of American Indians all filed briefs in support of the <unk> tribe . The case was heard on May 29 , 1979 by a three @-@ judge panel consisting of Chief Judge Oliver Seth and Circuit Judges William Holloway , Jr. and Monroe G. McKay . The arguments were the same as at the district court level , with the oil companies stating that tribal sovereignty did not apply to taxation of non @-@ Indians conducting business on the reservation . In an unusual move , no written decision was issued , and the attorneys were told to <unk> the case en banc . McKay stated that as he recalls , he and Holloway were in disagreement with Seth , who favored a limited view of the tribe 's authority to tax the oil companies . 
