Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Mildly Interesting SCOTUS Development: Bearcomesout Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in Bearscomesout v. United States:

bearcomesout cert petition

Question presented:

Whether the “separate sovereign” concept actually exists any longer where Congress’s plenary power over Indian tribes and the general erosion of any real tribal sovereignty is amplified by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s Constitution in this case such that Petitioner’s prosecutions in both tribal and federal court violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The Ninth Circuit’s unpublished opinion is here. We posted briefs in this case because the federal appellate defender characterized this case as a direct challenge to the applicability of the dual sovereign exception to double jeopardy as applied to Indian tribes.

SCOTUSBlog notes this case has been relisted, perhaps because a justice wants to write a dissent from denial of certiorari (Justice Thomas anyone?), but who knows?

Brown University Discussion on Indian Sacred Sites

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

“Sacred Sites, Federal Indian Law, and the Future”

3:00 pm to 6:30 pm

IBES Room 130, 85 Waterman Street

The political and social dynamics of American Indian sacred sites and basic human rights protections within the contemporary U.S. are constantly evolving. This panel, including various legal scholars, community leaders, and activists, will explore issues of human rights, self-determination, sovereignty, and potential International legal remedies in order to better understand the contemporary realities of misunderstanding, lack of social justice, U.S. constructed hierarchies of economic and political inequality, and overall legacies of colonialism.

Keynote Speaker at 3:00pm – 4:30pm

  • Rebecca Tsosie, Regents Professor of Law at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law with the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program and Special Advisor to the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Arizona. She has extensive experience working with tribal communities across Indian Country and currently serves as appellate judge for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation’s Supreme Court and San Carlos Apache Tribe’s Court of Appeals.

Panel Discussion at 4:45pm – 6:30pm

  • Matthew L.M. Fletcher, Professor of Law at Michigan State University College of Law and Director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center. He sits as the Chief Justice of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Supreme Court and also sits as an appellate judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska. He is a member of the Grand Traverse Band, located in Peshawbestown, Michigan.
  • Wendsler Nosie Sr., Activist, Founder of the organization Apache Stronghold, and Councilman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
  • Nizhoni Pike, youth activist, part of Apache Stronghold.

A CSREA Faculty Grant Event. Organized by Nicholas Laluk, Postdoctoral Fellow with CSREA and the Department of Anthropology.

Cosponsored by the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, Native American and Indigenous Studies, and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology.

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Stanko v. Oglala Sioux Tribe [traffic ticket]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Stanko First Brief

Tribe Answer Brief

Lower court materials here.

Tenth Circuit Briefs in Comanche Nation v. Zinke [Chickasaw Trust Land Acquisition]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Comanche Opening Brief

Federal Answer Brief

Reply

Lower court materials here.

Materials in Emm v. Yerington Paiute Tribe [med mal]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

3 Magistrate Report

4 DCT Order

5 Pro Se Complaint

Wisconsin SCT Briefs in Wingra Redi-Mix, Inc. v. State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

wingra opening brief

ho-chunk nation response brief

state historical society brief

reply

News coverage of oral argument here.

Lower court materials here.

Federal Circuit Briefs in St. Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Opening Brief filed

Appellee Brief Filed

R Street amicus

Amicus Brief of United States

amicus HTIA

Motherboard on the Puyallup Shellfish Dept.

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “The Geoduck Diver.”

National Indian Law Library Bulletin (4/18/2018)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 4/17/18.

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2017-2018update.html
Petition was filed in: Lummi Tribe of the Lummi Reservation, Washington v. United States (Jurisdiction; Grant in Aid Funds) on 4/5/18.
Petition was filed in: County of Amador, CA v. Department of the Interior, et al. (Land into Trust) on 4/11/18.

Law Review & Bar Journal Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/lawreviews/2018.html

  • Who can sue? The Sixth Circuit in D.O. v. Glisson deepens the split over a private right of action to foster care maintenance payments.
  • Personalizing pollution and landscape destruction: How Native American and international perspectives should be integrated into federal environmental policy.
  • The Gorge Commission: An adequate forum for States, Countries, Tribes and the railroads operating in the Columbia River Gorge.
  • Tribal sovereign immunity as a defense in overcoming IPR challenges of brand name pharmaceutical patent validity at PTAB- Effects on the industry.

Tribal Courts Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/tribal/2018.html
Byrd v. Cherokee Nation Businesses, LCC (Wrongful Termination)
Schmitz v. Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC (Wrongful Termination)
Parks v. Taylor (Guardianship – Domestic Violence Protection Order)
Arnold v. Cherokee Nation Entertainment (Disability Benefits)
Weeks v. Combs (Child Custody)
Josellis v. Field (Notice of Appeal)

Federal Courts Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/2018.html
Butte County, California v. Chaudhuri (Land into Trust)
Brakebill v. Jaeger (Voting Rights)

State Courts Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/state/2018.html
Mendoza v. Isleta Resort (Workers Compensation)
Olson v. North Dakota Department of Transportation (Criminal Jurisdiction)

News Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/news/currentnews.html
In the Health & Welfare section, we feature articles about a new law passed by Congress addressing the epidemic of missing and murdered Native American women.

Regulatory Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/regulatory/2018.html
We feature a proclamation from the Department of the Interior relating to adding land to the reservation of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

U.S. Legislation Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/legislation/115_uslegislation.html
The following bills and resolutions were added:
S.2515: PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act
The following bill passed and became law:
S.772: Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act. (Became PL 116-156)