Author: Sarah M Donnelly

Oregon State Bar Indian Law Section CLE

Sarah M Donnelly

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

WHO: Indian Law Section

WHAT: Indian Law Section CLE: Justice in Indian Country

WHY: Join your colleagues for a full day CLE event with nationally recognized
Indian law practitioners and academics participating in panel discussions on a
range of timely and relevant topics. Explore some of today’s developments in
tribal courts, both civil and criminal.

Seminar topics include:

  • Trends in tribal courts
  • Negotiating contracts with tribes and tribal entities
  • Dollar General Corporation v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
  • Arrest and investigation authority
  • Criminal issues in tribal courts
  • Reconciling policies across jurisdictional line and minding the
    jurisdictional gaps

Click here for a brochure and full agenda.

WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, 9 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: Grand Ronde Community Center, Grand Ronde
For accommodations at Spirit Mountain Lodge please call (800) 760-7977.

This CLE will also be available live online via web stream. To access the web
stream, please register online and then send an email to Patrick Sullivan at
psullivan@dickinsonwright.com to request streaming instructions.

CLE Credits (pending): 6.5 General

COST: $50 (includes lunch)

Click here to register online now. For personal assistance, please call the OSB
CLE Service Center at (503) 431-6413 or toll-free at (800) 452-8260, ext. 413.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture, & Resistance Call for Submissions

Sarah M Donnelly1 Comment

Please Circulate

The Indigenous Peoples’ Journal of Law, Culture & Resistance (IPJLCR) is accepting submissions for Volume 3.  Submissions are being accepted until December 31, 2015.

IPJLCR is a law journal at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law that is interdisciplinary in nature, consisting of academic articles, legal commentary, poetry, songs, stories, and artwork.  We are soliciting scholarly articles and student comments written about legal issues important to Indigenous communities and Native People in the United States and throughout the world, as well as works by artists that relate to or comment on legal issues.  We also seek works on issues or aspects of life in Native communities that are impacted by law, whether tribal law or the laws of nation-states.

IPJLCR has been out of publication since 2005 and its renewal at the law school is due to a group of dedicated students committed to Native issues, federal Indian law, and tribal law.  Past issues include: a letter to the United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor about the Lyng case, an essay by Joy Harjo on resistance, writings by Matthew L.M. Fletcher, poetry by Sara Littlecrow-Russell, Mahealani Kamauu, and Shawna Shandiin Sunrise, artwork by Elizabeth Whipple and Nadema Agard Winyan Luta Red Woman, as well as photography by Anna Tsouhlarakis.

Email Submissions to: ipjlcr@lawnet.ucla.edu

Requirements: Each submission should be sent as one Microsoft Word file with Bluebook formatted citations (20th ed. 2015).  Brief bios are required, as well as 12 pt Times New Roman typed font, paginated, and should include: your name, address, phone number, and email address in the header of the first page.

Final Settlement Agreement in Ramah Navajo Chapter et. al. v. Jewell

Sarah M Donnelly1 Comment

Motion for preliminary approval and FSA here.

Plaintiffs’ press releases: Class Members Counsel, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Ramah Navajo Chapter, Pueblo of Zuni.

Previous Turtle Talk coverage here.

The $940 million settlement will satisfy any underpayment of contract support costs from 1994 to 2013 by the U.S. Government.

Chief Financial Officer Vacancy with St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin

Sarah M Donnelly

Job posting here.

Resumes need to be submitted by October 5th.

Over $4 million awarded to Michigan Tribes through tribal-specific grant program with DOJ

Sarah M Donnelly1 Comment

Yesterday, the Department of Justice awarded over $97 million to 206 federally recognized Tribes that had applied to the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation.  The program has awarded more than $620 million since it launched in 2010.  $30.5 million have been granted to Michigan Tribes in that time.  Its purpose is to improve public safety and victim services.

Link to DOJ awards list here.

Link to DOJ statement here.

Federal Court Dismisses Michigan’s Challenge to Sault Tribe’s Lansing/Wayne County Gaming Trust Land Application

Sarah M Donnelly

Opinion here.

Court documents previously posted here.

There is no constitutional tort in play. There is no underlying federal or state law criminal prohibition. There is nothing wrong in principle with filing a land in trust application. To the contrary, such a filing would normally be protected First Amendment activity. The only thing the filing allegedly violated here was a bilateral promise – a contract. Extending Ex parte Young to such a theory would open federal courts to routine breach of contract claims that can and ordinarily should be resolved in the state Court of Claims (when a state contract is at issue), or whatever forum the parties choose for themselves in the case of a tribal contract. Here, the parties did negotiate expressly over both the issues of sovereign immunity and dispute resolution. They concluded in their Compact that neither side was agreeing to waive sovereign immunity, and negotiation and arbitration would be the preferred methods of dealing with disputes.

Police Officer Who Killed Paul Castaway Will Not Be Charged

Sarah M Donnelly

Denver’s District Attorney has concluded that Officer Michael Traudt was legally justified in using deadly force against the Rosebud Sioux member in July.

DA’s report here.

Mother Jones article and video (MILDLY GRAPHIC) here.

Coeur d’Alene Tribe Wins Writ of Mandamus from Supreme Court of Idaho

Sarah M Donnelly

Opinion in Coeur d’Alene Tribe v. Lawrence Denney here.

Star Tribune article covering decision here.

The Supreme Court of Idaho ruled in the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s favor yesterday when it ordered the Secretary of State to put in effect S.B. 1011.  The bill repeals a section of Idaho code enacted in 2013 that permitted wagering on “historical” horse races.  That law led to millions being invested in racing machines at non-Indian racetracks, but the Tribe and other critics claimed they were more similar to slot machines illegal under Idaho law.

The repeal went before the Governor on March 30, 2015.  However, he did not veto the bill until April 6, after the constitutionally mandated 5-day deadline.  Despite the violation, Idaho’s legislature took a vote to override the veto but it did not get a supermajority and the Secretary of State refused to certify the bill into law when the Tribe requested.

Gun Lake Investment Searches for CEO

Sarah M Donnelly

Job announcement here.

Resumes with cover letters should be sent before end of business on Monday, September 30, 2015.

Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri Accepting Applications for Tribal District Judge

Sarah M Donnelly

Job announcement here.