Here are the briefs:
Dupris Reply to Officers Brief
Lower court materials are here.
Criminal
Ninth Circuit Affirms Juvenile Conviction under Major Crimes Act
Here is the opinion in United States v. H.B.
An excerpt:
H.B. appeals his adjudication as a juvenile delinquent for aiding and abetting his cousin, W.B., in committing aggravated sexual abuse against their female friend, T.T.W., on an Indian reservation.1 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031 et seq.; 18 U.S.C. § 1153(a); 18 U.S.C. § 2. On appeal, H.B. claims that there was insufficient evidence to support his adjudication. In addition, H.B. contends that the district court imposed an unreasonable sentence by ordering him to spend 18 months at a juvenile correctional detention facility followed by 12 months of juvenile delinquent supervision. We disagree, and affirm the adjudication and sentence.
Minn. COA Affirm DV Conviction in State v. Manypenny
Here is the unpublished opinion:
An excerpt:
Appellant Jeffrey Lee Manypenny challenges his domestic-assault and fifth-degree-assault convictions stemming from an assault against his girlfriend, J.K., in January 2011. Appellant first argues that the district court clearly erred when it denied his Batson challenge to the state’s peremptory strike of a Native American juror, contending that the state impermissibly excluded the juror based on his race.
***
Here, the prosecutor stated:
[T]he basis for my p[er]emptory challenge is I have information [that he] was convicted of domestic assault in 1996. He did not share that information with the [c]ourt when asked if they had been convicted of anything other than a minor traffic offense. He made no comment on that. He hesitated drastically how he felt about his contact with law enforcement . . . . He was very equivocal, and the basis for the p[er]emptory is definitely not having anything to do with race. As noted, we have a number of [N]ative [A]merican jurors on the panel.
The prosecutor gave two reasons for her peremptory strike: (1) failure to disclose a prior conviction of domestic assault; and (2) perceived bias against law enforcement. “Prior convictions and prior arrests are valid reasons for exercising peremptory challenges.” State v. James, 638 N.W.2d 205, 210 (Minn. App. 2002), review denied (Minn. Mar. 27, 2002). And “negative feelings toward government and law enforcement in particular” is a sufficient race-neutral reason for a peremptory strike. State v. DeVerney, 592 N.W.2d 837, 843 (Minn. 1999).
Ryan Dreveskracht on VAWA and the Objections to an Oliphant Fix
Ryan Dreveskracht has provided a draft of his paper, “House Republicans Add Insult to Native Womens’ Injury,” forthcoming in the University of Miami Race and Social Justice Law Review.
Here is the draft:
Minn. Public Radio on Leech Lake/Cass County Wellness Court
An excerpt:
Some Leech Lake tribal leaders were suspicious when asked to help create the wellness court back in 2006. The tribe is sometimes at odds with the state, and band leaders are protective of their sovereignty.
But the tribe came to realize that participating in the program gave tribal judges the chance — for the first time ever — to sit in a courtroom with county judges as equals. It gave the tribe a direct say in the outcome of cases involving band members.
The Leech Lake tribe has a lot at stake. By some estimates, as many as 60 percent of the reservation’s tribal residents struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. It’s a problem that touches nearly every family.
In Cass County, Ojibwe people make up about 12 percent of the population, but they typically account for close to half of the county jail population. They’re over-represented in the state corrections system, too, and they’re more likely to reoffend and get sent back to prison.
Korey Wahwassuck is an associate judge for the Leech Lake Band. In wellness court, she shares the bench with her counterparts from Itasca and Cass counties. Wahwassuck says the program is a way to heal people rather than lock them up.
New Mexico COA Affirms State Conviction of Navajo Member for Crime on Navajo Fee Land (Baca Chapter)
Here is the opinion in State v. Vandever.
An excerpt:
Defendant Milroy Vandever was involved in an automobile accident in the checkerboard area of western New Mexico; a highway worker was killed. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss, contending that the district court lacked jurisdiction because he is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and the accident occurred in Indian country. The district court denied the motion, and Defendant pled guilty to homicide by vehicle, driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (DWI), and knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death. We affirm the decision of the district court denying the motion to dismiss because Defendant did not meet his burden of establishing that the accident occurred in Indian country.
Federal Court Denies Motion to Suppress Evidence Taken under Red Lake Tribal Court Warrant
Here are the materials in United States v. Stateley (D. Minn.):
Two Announcements from Interior
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to fulfilling this nation’s trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives, the Office of the Secretary of the Interior will have the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform hold a public Webinar meeting on Monday, August 13, 2012.
Details for registering here. (pdf)
WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS) will hold the second of six training sessions to improve the trial advocacy skills of tribal court prosecutors, defenders and judges on August 14-16, 2012, in Ignacio, Colo. This training session, which will focus on domestic violence, was originally scheduled to take place in Durango.
The training is being conducted under the Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Training Program, a joint effort by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice that furthers the mandate of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TOLA) to strengthen tribal sovereignty over criminal justice matters on federal Indian lands by strengthening the skills of those who practice within the tribal court system.
Details here
Materials in United States v. David Cypress (Fmr. Seminole Vice Chair)
Here is the news coverage.
Here are the materials:
ABA Resolution Supporting VAWA Reauthorization and Tribal Jurisdiction
Here:
ABA Final Tribal Jurisdiction – VAWA reauthorization resolution as approved 8-7-2012
The materials are here on the ABA site as well:
Turtle Talk 
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