Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher – Page 335

Defendant failed to avail himself of the 
   right to inspect jury selection records, and the district court did not 
   err in failing to order sua sponte that those records be made available to 
   him; claim that the jury did not represent a fair cross section of the 
   community and that the jury selection process used by the district court 
   improperly excluded Native Americans from the venire is rejected; this 
   court has previously upheld North Dakota's jury selection plan, which 
   draws its pools of prospective jurors randomly from lists of persons who 
   voted in the last presidential election; jury administrator's testimony 
   that there were not usually one or two Native Americans on the potential 
   jury panel did not constitute a prima facie showing that Native Americans 
   have been substantially under-represented on venires over a significant 
   period of time.

Interior Solicitor Opinion on Lumbee Federal Recognition Process

December 30, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is opinion M-37040.

In short, 1989 opinion overruled.

Navajo Tax Attorney Posting

December 28, 2016December 28, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

2016-12-19-jva-tax-attorney-ontc

Eighth Circuit Holds New Town is “Indian Country”

December 28, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in United States v. Bear.

The court’s syllabus:

Defendant's argument that New Town, where his 
   crime occurred, is not part of the Fort Berthold Reservation is rejected, 
   and the district court did not err in determining that defendant was 
   properly subject to federal prosecution.

California SCT Rules against Immunity for Tribal Sovereign Lenders

December 23, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in People ex rel. Owens v. Miami Nation Enterprises.

We posted briefs here.

Student Scholarship on Cross-Border Affirmative Action

December 23, 2016December 21, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

An Indian by Any Other Name: Cross-Border Affirmative Action
Forthcoming, 92 N.Y.U. L. REV. (2017)
Raymond J. Fadel
New York University (NYU), School of Law, Students
Date Posted: December 08, 2016

Ninth Circuit Rejects Informal FMLA/Defamation Claim against Havasu Landing Casino

December 22, 2016December 21, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Mullally v. Gordon:

Unpublished opinion

Briefs:

opening-brief

answer-brief

Kevin Washburn on the Return of Lands to the MHA Nation from the United States

December 22, 2016Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kevin Washburn has posted “Another Broken Promise Addressed with the Return of 25,000 Acres to the MHA Nation in North Dakota” on LinkedIn Pulse.

An excerpt:

In the late 1940s, the federal government took more than 150,000 acres from the Indian reservation of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold to build the Garrison Dam and create the lake behind it, known today as Lake Sakakawea. At the time, the project was important for flood control along the Missouri River. The Indian community was distraught to see so much arable land lost to it, but its interests were sacrificed to what was thought by federal officials to be the public good and the project moved forward.

In subsequent legislation, Congress promised to restore at least the small portion of the land that was ultimately determined not to be needed for this important flood control project. For seventy years, the Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation waited patiently. Not quietly, but patiently. It was obvious that the project had taken far more land that it actually needed. MHA tribal leaders frequently met with federal officials and asked when the law would be followed (and the surplus land returned).

Seventy years later, the United States has finally lived up to this promise. Yesterday, the Army Corps announced that it would turn over 25,000 acres of land to the Department of the Interior to be placed in trust for the MHA Nation. The formal process required for this result has stopped and started several times over the years, and was never completed, until yesterday. I congratulate the Army Corps and President Obama’s Indian Affairs team for rectifying this historical injustice.