Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Federal law prohibits the possession of a firearm by a person “who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.” 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). Defendant Hunter Peneaux pleaded guilty to domestic abuse in Rosebud Sioux Tribal Court on three separate occasions. He was later indicted by a grand jury for violating § 922(g)(9). Peneaux now moves to dismiss the indictment, arguing that his tribal court convictions do not qualify as misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence because they did not have” as an element, the user attempted use of physical force.” 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii). Under the sometimes-frustrating analys is required by the Supreme Court, this Court must dismiss Peneaux’s indictment.

Sovereignty Symposium 2023

May 3, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Sovereignty Symposium is a national event held for the past 35 years in Oklahoma to provide a forum in which ideas concerning common legal issues among those in the legal professions, federal and state officials, and the state’s Native American tribes can be exchanged in a scholarly, non-adversarial environment. It was originally established by the Oklahoma Supreme Court with this being the first year Oklahoma City University will be involved in the symposium.

The move to transfer the symposium to OCU is because of the institution’s long history within its School of Law of teaching and working in Oklahoma Indian Country. OCU law houses the American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center as well as its American Indian Wills Clinic. OCU President Kenneth Evans explains further, “Oklahoma City University is honored to be able to host and administer the Sovereignty Symposium for years to come. Our School of Law and our university at-large emphasize collaboration with Oklahoma’s 39 tribal governments and their citizens. Hosting the symposium is a natural extension of our continuing efforts.”

This year’s symposium will take place June 13-14, 2023, at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. Titled “Treaties,” the keynote speaker will be Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, a life peer and member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. For more information or to register to attend, please go to thesovereigntysymposium.com.

Eighth Circuit Affirms Indian Country Drug Conviction over Potentially Interesting Jurisdictional Objections

May 3, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in United States v. Milk.

Briefs:

Opening Brief

Federal Answer Brief

An excerpt from the opinion:

Milk, who is Native American and an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, contends that the district court lacked jurisdiction because (1) he was convicted of crimes that are not enumerated under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153,4 and (2) under the General Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1152, the alleged unlawful acts in this case occurred on the Pine Ridge Reservation and only involved American Indian people. But Milk’s arguments are foreclosed by precedent.

New Student Scholarship on Indian Country Criminal Sentencing

May 2, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Nasrin Camilla Akbari has published “The Gladue Approach: Addressing Indigenous Overincarceration Through Sentencing Reform” in the NYU Law Review. PDF

Here is the abstract:

In the American criminal justice system, individuals from marginalized communi- ties routinely face longer terms and greater rates of incarceration compared to their nonmarginalized counterparts. Because the literature on mass incarceration and sentencing disparities has largely focused on the experiences of Black and Hispanic individuals, far less attention has been paid to the overincarceration of Native peo- ples. Yet there are clear indications that Native peoples are both overrepresented within the criminal justice system and subject to unique sentencing disparities as compared to other ethnicities. While these issues are partly motivated by traditional drivers of criminal behavior, including access barriers to housing, employment, and education, this Note argues that there is a greater systemic issue at play: the enduring legacy of colonialism. Accounting for—and correcting—this legacy in the criminal justice system is a complex task, though not an impossible one. For example, over the past twenty years, the Canadian criminal justice system has implemented a novel, remedial sentencing approach to address the overincarcera- tion of Aboriginal offenders: the Gladue approach. Recognizing the extent to which the Canadian legal system has failed to account for the unique needs, exper- iences, and circumstances of Aboriginal offenders, the Gladue approach mandates an individualized and contextualized approach to sentencing, one which prioritizes community-based alternatives to incarceration and emphasizes restorative justice. This Note proposes two legal pathways by which to transplant the Gladue approach to the American criminal justice system. In so doing, it offers the first comprehensive analysis of the normative and constitutional implications of applying the Gladue approach to the sentencing of Native peoples within the United States. While the approach has challenges and shortcomings, it is neverthe- less a powerful tool by which the American criminal justice system can begin to reckon with its colonial past and present.

*The Whitney’s effort to get you to feel good about giving them zhoonya.*

Michael McNally on Indian Sacred Sites

May 2, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Michael D. McNally has published “The Sacred and the Profaned: Protection of Native American Sacred Places That Have Been Desecrated” in the California Law Review. PDF

Here is the abstract:

From Standing Rock to San Francisco Peaks, Native American efforts to protect threatened sacred places in court have been troubled by what this Article identifies as the profanation principle: a presumption that places already profaned or degraded by development or pollution can no longer be sufficiently sacred to Native peoples to merit protection. When the Supreme Court of Hawai’i rejected Native Hawaiian challenges to a massive new telescope on Mauna Kea because its summit was already developed, the sole dissenting justice termed it the “the degradation principle”: a view that because eleven telescopes had already despoiled the summit, the new telescope would cause no substantial adverse impacts on natural and cultural resources. This Article draws on religious studies training to show that, from the Ganges River to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, what makes the holy places of the world’s religions sacred seldom hinges on their natural purity. A presumption that Native American sacred places must be pristine to be authentically sacred is discriminatory, rooted in romanticized stereotypes of Native religions as nature piety rather than complex systems of obligation and relationship to sacred places. If the profanation principle seldom manifests as an explicit legal reason for an outcome, the Article demonstrates how consistently it plays out in cases under religious liberty, historic preservation, and environmental law. The Article suggests moving beyond the profanation principle, likening desecrated sacred places to sick relatives in need of healing and intensifying Native obligations to defend the sacred.