Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Materials in Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas ICRA Habeas Matter

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials so far in Darnell v. Merchant (D. Kan.):

1 Habeas Petition

10 DCT Order to Show Cause

12 Motion to Disqualify Counsel

15 Response to 1 & 10

16 Response to 12

18 Reply in Support of 1 & 10

20 Magistrate Order

An excerpt:

Darnell was convicted on March 9, 2017 in two cases before the Tribal Court of tampering with records, fraudulent handling of recordable instruments, and misuse of tribal funds. Although initially released on a cash bond pending sentencing, Darnell was subsequently arrested and has been incarcerated in the Brown County, Kansas Jail since March 31, 2017. On April 14, 2017, Darnell filed her petition for a writ of habeas corpus (the “Petition”). On April 24, 2017, Darnell was sentenced to 18 months and 22 months incarceration, to run concurrently, on her conviction in the two cases. On May 4, 2017, Darnell filed a supplement to her Petition. In her Petition and supplement, Darnell alleges that the Tribal Court committed a number of errors and improprieties with regard to her trial, sentencing, and incarceration, and that she was deprived of her liberty without due process of law as required under the Indian Civil Rights Act. Lemon served as Special Prosecutor for the Kickapoo Tribe in prosecuting Darnell and tried her jury trial that is the subject of this habeas corpus action.

“Enforcement of Tribal Protection Orders in California”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

NYTs: “Indigenous Canadians Challenge an Exclusive American Fishing Camp”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

NYTs: “Name Your Pick for TrumpWorld’s Worst Cabinet Member” [Spoiler — It’s Jeff Sessions]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here. 

An excerpt:

“So many choices,” said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. At first Ornstein refused to pick for Worst, arguing that the contest for most awful cabinet member should be treated like a kid’s athletic competition where everybody’s a winner. In the end, however, he went for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (“Racist on voting rights and more, bringing back mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, promoting the cancer of private prisons.”)

Tulalip Tribal Court Denies Summary Judgment, Affirms In Rem Jurisdiction Versus State over Items Seized Pursuant to Search Warrant

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Shopbell v. Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (Tulalip Tribal Court):

4-6-17 Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum in Support of Motion

4-24-17 Plaintiff’s Cross Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Re Probable Cause

5-2-17 Plaintiff’s Response in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

5-4-17 Defendants’ Response to Plaintiff’s Cross Motion for Summary Judgment Re Probable Cause

5-12-17 Defendants’ Reply in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment

5-15-17 Plaintiff’s Reply in Support of Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

6-14-17 Ruling on Summary Judgment Motions

Nooksack State Court Update: State Superior Court Stays Discovery, Enjoins Tribal Eviction

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are updated pleadings in Rabang v. Gilliand (Whatcom County Superior Court):

5-25-17 Defendant Chief Judge Raymond Dodge’s Motion to Stay Discovery

5-26-17 Defendants’ Motion for Stay of Proceedings

6-2-17 Plaintiffs’ Joint Response to Defendants’ Motions for Stay

6-7-17 Defendant Chief Judge Raymond Dodge’s Reply in Support of Motion to Stay

6-7-17 Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion to Stay

6-15-17 Order Granting Defendants’ Motions to Stay Discovery

State agency letter:

5-1-17 Washington State TANF Letter to Robert Kelly Jr

Ninth Circuit Decides Comenout v. Whitener (Rule 19, tribal immunity)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished order.

Briefs:

Opening Brief

Answer Brief

Reply Brief

Lower court materials:

19 Motion to Dismiss

21 Response

24 Reply

25 DCT Order

 

HuffPo: “America Spent Centuries Mistreating Native American Children. Trump Is Making It Worse.”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here.

Federal Court Orders Environmental Review of DAPL

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion and order in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (D.D.C.):

Yawwinma Nez Perce Rapid River Traditional Cultural Property

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Dan Rey-Bear:

This historic and ongoing tribal fishing ground near Riggins, Idaho was just listed on the National Register of Historic Places, https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-06-07/pdf/2017-11737.pdf. For background, see the draft nomination form.

From page 42 of the draft nomination:

“For some Nez Perce, Rapid River is the only place they get to fish.” Of course, tribal members continue to fish the Clearwater, the Columbia, the Lochsa, the Selway, the Imnaha, the Grand Ronde, the Snake, and their tributaries, but the proximity of Yáwwinma, the relatively small size of the river, and the comparatively large number of returning of hatchery fish each year make Rapid River arguably the most important salmon stream for noncommercial Nez Perce fishermen and their families who depend on it as a ceremonial and subsistence fishery. The river and the grounds of Rapid River House [one of the two lots included in the listing] now literally belong to the Nez Perce Tribe, but traditional Nez Perce people would say just the opposite: we belong to Yáwwinma.

Also, the other listed lot owned by the Tribe is called “Barter Town”. Per pages 43-44, “According to Nez Perce fishermen, this contemporary place name also makes a direct allusion to the place of the same name in the 1985 postapocalyptic film Mad Max Beyond the Thunder Dome starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. In addition to being a descriptive name, Barter Town is also a prime example of Nez Perce humor and the dynamic vitality of the Nez Perce oral tradition.”