Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Ninth Circuit Decides California Valley Miwok Tribe v. Zinke

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion.

Briefs here.

Oral argument video here.

Lower court materials here.

Washington COA Rejects Tribal Vendor’s Tax Assessment Challenge

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Everi Payments Inc. v. Washington State Dept Of Revenue:

507919 Appellant’s Brief

507919 Respondent’s Brief

507919 Reply Brief

D2 50791-9-II Published Opinion

Lower court materials here.

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe v. Sattgast

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Appellant Brief

Appellee Brief

Reply

Lower court materials here.

 

Tenth Circuit Briefs in Caddo Nation of Oklahoma v. Wichita and Affiliated Tribes II

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Appellant Brief

Response Brief

Reply

Case tag here.

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Seminole Tax Claims on Claim Preclusion Grounds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion:

Opinion

Here is an excerpt:

The question in this appeal is whether the doctrine of claim preclusion bars the Seminole Tribe of Florida (the “Tribe”) from again challenging the imposition of a Florida state tax on utility services, which the Tribe uses to conduct on reservation activities that are regulated by federal law. Concluding that the requirements of claim preclusion have been met and that no exception to the doctrine applies, we affirm the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of the Tribe’s complaint.

Briefs here.

Federal Court Confirms Conviction of Several for Witness Retaliation in Hunkpati Investments Fraud

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in United States v. Columbe (D.S.D.):

2 Redacted Indictment

234 DCT Order

Ninth Circuit Briefs in Rabang v. Kelly II

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

6. Opening Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants

11. Appellee Chief Judge Ray Dodge’s Answering Brief

13. Answering Brief of Kelly Defendants-Appellants

21. Reply

Case tag here.

Jessica Shoemaker on Reclaiming Modern Indigenous Land Tenures

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Jessica Shoemaker has posted “Transforming Property: Reclaiming Modern Indigenous Land Tenures,” forthcoming in the California Law Review.

Here is the abstract:

This Article challenges existing narratives about the future of American Indian land tenure. The current highly-federalized system for reservation property is deeply problematic. In particular, the trust status of many reservation lands is expensive, bureaucratic, controlling, and linked to persistent poverty in many reservation communities. Yet, for complex reasons, trust property has proven largely immune from fundamental reform. Today, there seem to be two primary options floated for the future: a “do the best with what we have” approach that largely accepts core problems with trust, perhaps with some minor efficiency-oriented tinkering, for the sake of the benefits and security it does provide, or a return to old, already-failed reform strategies focused on simply “liberating” American Indian people with a forced transition to state-based fee-simple property. Both strategies respond, sometimes implicitly, to deep impulses about how property should work, especially in a market economy, but both also neglect sufficient respect for the true potential of more autonomous indigenous property regimes.

This Article engages property theory and related work on property system change to make the case for more radical institutional land reform as a realistic alternative choice, even in the complex and multi-layered environment of existing reservations. Property systems are full of dynamic, pluralistic potential, and property powerfully shapes the contours of both human communities and physical landscapes. This Article unearths this existing potential and charts a series of alternative steps, driven primarily by respect for tribal governments’ own actions and choices, to reclaim new, modern versions of indigenous land tenures within reservation spaces.

Oral Argument Transcript in Case on Whether the Dual Sovereignty Exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause Should Continue

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Worth a read. The federal government’s attorney’s representations about tribal criminal jurisdiction and tribal prerogatives are . . . interesting.

Here is the transcript in Gamble v. United States.

The docket page is here.

The NWIRC and NCAI brief is here: NIWRC Amicus Brief

National Indian Law Library Bulletin (12/6/2018)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 12/6/18.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin (contact us if you need help finding a copy of an article)
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2018.html

  • Human rights and the Paris Agreement’s implementation guidelines: Opportunities to develop a rights-based approach.
  • Tribal sovereign immunity and the need for congressional action.
  • Indigenous rights to water & environmental protection.
  • Killing the black snake: The Dakota Access Pipeline’s fate post-Sierra Club v. FERC.
  • Social contract: The distributive significance of a Native nation’s patent agreement with Allergan.
  • Patently absurd: Critiquing the USPTOS’s disparate treatment of tribal and state immunity in inter partes review.

Federal Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2018.html

  • White Mountain Apache Tribe v. United States (Fiduciary Duty: Trust Funds)
  • Tenorio v. High Hawk (Indian Civil Rights Act; Banishment; Sentencing)
  • Fort Sill Apache Tribe v. National Indian Gaming Commission (Gaming; Federal Recognition)
  • Cheykaychi v. Geisen (Indian Civil Rights Act)
  • Enrolled members of the Blackfeet Tribe v. Thedus Crowe (Tribal Water Rights – Compacts)
  • In Re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing (Trust Funds – Allocation)
  • BP America INC. v. Yerington Paiute Tribe (Exhaustion of Tribal Remedies)
  • Pueblo of Jemez v. United States (Native American Oral Traditional Evidence; Hearsay)

State Courts Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2018.html

  • In the Matter of Contested Case Hearing Re Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the Mauna Kea Science Reserver, Ka’ohe Mauka, Hamakua, Hawai’i, TMK (Native Hawaiian Sacred Sites; Telescope)
  • People in Interest of M.V. (Indian Child Welfare Act – Juvenile Court Jurisdiction)
  • People in Interest of M.D. (Indian Child Welfare Act – Active Efforts; Indian Child Welfare Act – Placement)
  • Hopi Tribe v. Arizona Snowbowl Resort Limited Partnership (Sacred Sites; Wastewater; Snowmaking)

Tribal Courts Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2018.html
Gallaher v. Colville Confederated Tribes

News Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
In the Health & Welfare section, we feature two articles on a case challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Regulatory Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2018.html
We feature a notice of proposed finding against federal acknowledgement of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

U.S. Legislation Bulletin
https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html
The following were added:

  • H.Res.1159: Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
  • H.Res.1163: Recognizing National Native American Heritage Month and celebrating the heritages and cultures of Native Americans and the contributions of Native Americans to the United States.