Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Appellees engineered and executed a scheme to swindle hundreds of millions of dollars in oil-and-gas lease revenue from Appellants Ramona Two Shields and Mary Louise Defender Wilson and the class of Native Americans they propose to represent. Yet the District Court concluded that Appellants could not, as a matter of law, pursue their North Dakota common-law claims against Appellees simply because Appellees involved the United States in their swindle. Based on that fact alone, the District Court found that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 required dismissal of Appellants’ entire case.

There is a parallel suit against the United States in the CFC.

Mille Lacs Effort to Pierce Money Centers Corporate Veil Partially Successful

February 24, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the new materials in Corporate Commission of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians v. Money Centers of America (D. Minn.):

258 Mlle Lacs Motion for Summary J

262 Wolfington Motion for Summary J

301 DCT Order

Prior orders here and here.

Duke Law Journal Publishes “The Savage Constitution”

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Gregory Ablavsky has published “The Savage Constitution” (PDF) in the Duke Law Journal.

Here’s the abstract:

Conventional histories of the Constitution largely omit Natives. This Article challenges this absence and argues that Indian affairs played a key role in the Constitution’s creation, drafting, and ratification. It traces two constitutional narratives about Indians: a Madisonian and a Hamiltonian perspective. Both views arose from the failure of Indian policy under the Articles of Confederation, when explicit national authority could not constrain states, squatters, or Native nations. Nationalists agreed that this failure underscored the need for a stronger federal state, but disagreed about the explanation. Madisonians blamed interference with federal treaties, whereas the Hamiltonians argued the federal military was too weak to overawe the “savages.”

UN Special Rapporteur James Anaya Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

American Indian Law Journal CFP

February 24, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The American Indian Law Journal, published by the Seattle University School of Law, is currently accepting submissions for potential publication in the fall and spring issues. The American Indian Law Journal serves as a vital online resource providing high quality articles on issues relevant to Indian law practitioners and scholars across the country. The deadline for submissions for the fall issue is August 31, 2014. Our staff begins the editing process in mid-September, with publication occurring in November. Articles considered for publication in the spring issue must be submitted no later than December 15, 2014.

The American Indian Law Journal accepts articles and abstracts for consideration from students, practitioners, and law school faculty members. For more information or to submit an article, please contact Jillian Held, Content Editor, at heldj@seattleu.edu.