 In June 1830, a delegation led by Chief Ross defended Cherokee rights before the U.S. Supreme Court in "Cherokee Nation v. Georgia".In 1831 Georgia militia arrested Samuel Worcester for residing on Indian lands without a state permit, imprisoning him in Milledgeville.In "Worcester v. Georgia" (1832), the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that American Indian nations were "distinct, independent political communities retaining their original natural rights," and entitled to federal protection from the actions of state governments that infringed on their sovereignty.