Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher

First Circuit Materials in Littlefield v. Dept. of the Interior

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs:

Littlefield Brief

Mashpee Tribe

Federal Brief

Reply

Oral argument audio here.

Wisconsin Lawyer [Wis. State Bar Magazine] Profile of the Oneida Family Court

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Hon. Robert J. Collins has published “Tsi?latiliwahslu∙nihe kayanlahsla? (Of the place they make matters or issues right)” in the October 2023 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer.

Modoc Nation Brings Reservation Boundaries Suit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Modoc Nation v. Drummond (N.D. Okla.):

2 Complaint.pdfDownload

California Federal Court Dismisses Suit by Treatment Center against Salt River

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Dedicato Treatment Center Inc. v. Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (C.D. Cal.):

22 DCT Order Dismissing under Rule 19.pdfDownload
24 First Amended Complaint.pdfDownload
36-1 Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
38 Opposition.pdfDownload
39 Reply.pdfDownload
40-1 Motion for Sanctions.pdfDownload
42 DCT Order.pdfDownload

New Student Scholarship on Ecocide as Prosecutable Genocide

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Abbey Koenning-Rutherford has published “Dishonoring the Earth: Ecocide as Prosecutable Genocide Against Indigenous People” in the Georgetown Law Journal. PDF

Here is the abstract:

Global Indigenous people exist as one with the environment, with no western binary between people and nature. Destruction of Indigenous people is reciprocal with environmental destruction. Indigenous people, though only six percent of the global population, protect eighty percent of the world’s biodiversity and occupy exceedingly environmentally vulnerable regions. Because of these reasons, the International Criminal Court (the “ICC”) could be utilized to achieve justice by prosecuting ecocide as genocide, should impacted Indigenous peoples choose to utilize it

Arizona COA Holds State Court Does Not Have Jurisdiction over Tribal Member Defendant in Claim Arising on State Highway on Reservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Medina v. Estate of Cody:

1 CA-CV 22-0709 – Medina v. Chee – Opinion.pdfDownload

An excerpt:

The issue before us is whether a plaintiff who is not an enrolled tribal member may bring a civil tort case in state court against an enrolled tribal member for conduct occurring within tribal reservation boundaries but on a stretch of land for which the State has been granted a highway right-of-way easement. We hold that a non-tribal plaintiff bringing such a case cannot hale a nonconsenting enrolled tribal member defendant into state court for actions arising out of conduct on the defendant’s reservation, even when that conduct occurs on a state highway. Accordingly, we affirm.