Two important cert petitions, Elliott v. White Mountain Apache Tribal Court (09-187) and Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc. (09-326) are set for this Friday’s Conference.
Our sense is that the Court will decline to hear either case, and there’s no word from SCOTUSBlog on these petitions yet. However, the Court’s interest is always heightened when a tribal court asserts jurisdiction over a non-Indian, as is the case in the Elliott case. And there appears to be a circuit split (on trademark grounds) in the Harjo case, with one side of the split supposedly involving an opinion from then-Third Circuit judge Alito. So there is a possibility in each case.
Here are the materials in Elliott:
And here are the materials in Harjo:
Law Professors Amicus Brief (Phillips)
National Congress et al. Amicus Brief
DC Circuit Opinions and Briefs
District Court Opinions and Briefs
Trademark Trial and Appeals Board
Turtle Talk 