Criminal

Tenth Circuit Moots ICRA Habeas Petition Styled as a Removal from Tribal Court to Federal Court, with a Warning About Frivolous Filings

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion in Gardner v. Ute Tribal Court.

Briefs:

Appellant Memorandum Brief on Jurisdiction.pdfDownload
Opening Brief.pdfDownload
Answer Brief.pdfDownload
Reply.pdfDownload

Oklahoma Federal Judge Accepts Creek Nation-City of Tulsa Settlement Stipulation, Denies Gov. Stitt Motion to Intervene

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are new materials in Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. City of Tulsa (N.D. Okla.):

153 DCT Order Denying Criminal Defendants Motion to Intervene

154 DCT Order Denying Creek Freedmen Motion to Intervene

155 Stitt Reply ISO Motion to Intervene

167 – OPINION & ORDER (3-16-26)

Prior post here.

New Student Scholarship on the Need for Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction over Non-Indian Drug Offenses

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Shivani Singh has published “The Need for Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction Over Drug Crimes” in the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy.

An excerpt:

Limitations to Tribal criminal jurisdiction, especially over drug crimes, have ultimately contributed to “limited law enforcement; delayed prosecutions; too few prosecutions, and other prosecution inefficiencies” that have allowed non-Indian perpetrators to exploit a failing system and endanger vulnerable Tribal communities.

Tenth Circuit Confirms Disestablishment of Citizens Potawatomi Reservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Wahpekeche v. Pettigrew:

Opinion

Opening Brief pro se.pdfDownload
Appellant Supplemental Brief.pdfDownload
State Answer Brief.pdfDownload
Reply.pdfDownload

Alaska Superior Court Holds that State Courts Cannot Authorize Search Warrants for Tribal Property

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in State of Alaska v. Hayward (Alaska Super. Ct.):

Doc. 71 (No. 25-00199CR) Court _ Order Inviting Responses re. Sovereign Immunity.pdfDownload
Doc. 85 (No. 25-00199CR) State _ Briefing on Warrants and Jurisdiction (amended).pdfDownload
Doc. 90 (No. 25-00199CR) NARF _ Amicus Curiae Brief.pdfDownload
Doc. 92 (No. 25-00199CR) Metlakatla _ Letter re. Sovereign Immunity.pdfDownload
Doc. 94 (No. 25-00199CR) Court _ Order re. Sovereign Immunity.pdfDownload

Crow Citizen Sues BIA Cops for Trespass, False Imprisonment, Etc. under Bad Men Clause/FTCA

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Siemion v. United States (D. Mont.):

1 ComplaintDownload

United States v. Hopson Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

US Cert PetitionDownload

Question presented:

Whether respondents—Indians charged with felony assault in Indian country under the Major Crimes Act in violation of 18 U.S.C. 113(a)(6) and (8) and 1153(a)— were entitled both to a jury instruction on a lesser included offense not listed in the Major Crimes Act and complete acquittal if the jury found them guilty of that lesser offense.

Lower court materials here.

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Claim that Federal Criminal Statutes of General Applicability Do Not Apply to Indians in Indian Country

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in United States v. Brice:

CA11 Opinion

Opening Brief

Brief of the United States

Reply

California Federal Court Allows Round Valley to Sue Mendocino County + Sheriff over Weed Raids

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Round Valley Indian Tribes v. Kendall (N.D. Cal.):

35 First Amended Complaint.pdfDownload
40 Kendall Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
46 State Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
48 Opposition to 40.pdfDownload
53 Reply ISO 40.pdfDownload
56 Opposition to 46.pdfDownload
60 Reply ISO 46.pdfDownload
64 DCT Order.pdfDownload

Prior post here.

Update (2/25/26):

71 Second Amended Complaint.pdfDownload

Tenth Circuit Affirms Life Sentence for Murphy

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in United States v. Murphy.

The defendant was the subject of Sharp v. Murphy, the predecessor case to McGirt v. Oklahoma.

How many agree? “Supreme Court Bad.”