The Indian Law and Order Commission, created under the Tribal Law and Order Act, has just introduced a new website here:
http://www.indianlawandordercommission.com/
It has materials about the Commission and its members, the TLOA, and other resources.
Here are the materials, which involved an effort by a state criminal defendant arrested on Tulalip Tribes territory to subpoena tribal records (the Tribes appeared to have argued they had no relevant records):
State v. Youde, Order Quashing Subpoena
Youde Memorandum of Authorities 092711
second Response to Objection to SDT
Here’s a news article about the Yakama Tribe’s ongoing efforts to obtain retrocession of state jurisdiction under P.L. 280.
From the Tribal Justice News release of October 7, 2011:
Former General Manager of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Sentenced for Defrauding Casino (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California)
U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Jeff Livingston, 51, of Las Vegas to 24 months in prison for his conviction on six counts of mail fraud and three counts of theft committed during his employment as the general manager of Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino. The evidence at trial showed that Livingston, Chukchansi’s general manger, executed a scheme to defraud Chukchansi by making a series of personal purchases using his business credit card and other Chukchansi funds. Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino is owned and operated by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe in Madera County.
Our posts on Livingston’s motion to dismiss and indictment are here and here, respectively.
The rest of the Tribal Justice News release for October 7, 2011 is here:
Emily Tredeau has published “Tribal Control in Federal Sentencing” in the California Law Review.
Here is the abstract:
On many Indian reservations throughout the country, the federal government is the only sovereign empowered to prosecute serious felonies. Consequently Native Americans are disproportionately exposed to lengthy federal sentences. Because the federal government controls these cases, tribal sovereigns lack the local control over criminal law and policy that states enjoy.
Under the federal sentencing guidelines, each federal crime has an offense level that can go up or down depending on the crime’s circumstances. Combined with a defendant’s criminal history, the final level determines the range of sentences recommended under the guidelines. I propose that tribes alone decide offense levels for crimes committed in Indian country. This proposal aims to (1) enhance tribal sovereignty over on-reservation violence and thereby provide tribes with experience regulating felonies; (2) increase respect among tribal governments and their members for federal criminal prosecutions; and (3) decrease the racial sentencing disparity between Indians and non-Indians.
Here is the petition:
The question presented:
Whether the Ninth Circuit incorrectly denied Petitioner a Certificate of Appealability, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c), on his Sixth Amendment claim that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to file a Motion to Dismiss and/or Suppress pursuant to his Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure on the Morongo Band of Mission Indians’ Reservation’s protected land?
No chance for a grant here.
Criminal Justice in Indian Country: Roadblocks for Domestic Violence Survivors
Seattle University School of Law, Sullivan Hall Courtroom
Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 11am-1pm
Jurisdictional issues in Indian Country affect tribal members nationwide. Some types of crime, including domestic violence, often fall into jurisdictional gaps and are not prosecuted. Because tribal courts do not have jurisdiction over non-Indians, tribal members have no recourse through tribal courts when a perpetrator is a non-Indian. Between 2005 and 2010, the federal government refused to prosecute 50% of violent crimes that allegedly took place in Indian Country, and approximately 75% of sexually-based alleged crimes against women and children. However, some tribes are experimenting with creative ways of addressing these problems. This event, hosted by the Seattle University Human Rights Network, the Center for Indian Law and Policy, the Seattle University Native American Law Students Association, and the Seattle University Women’s Law Caucus, will inform attendees about the jurisdictional problems, as well as possible solutions in navigating these legal systems and addressing domestic violence. The enactment of the Tribal Law and Act of 2010, along with horrendous statistics of violence against women and children in Indian Country, makes this issue particularly timely and important for students interested in Indian law and advocacy.
Here is the opinion and materials in Buxton v. United States (D. S.D.):
Enough acronyms?
Here is the link to the witness list, and the list is reproduced here:
Mr. Tom Perrelli
Associate Attorney General
United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC
Mr. Larry Echo Hawk
Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
United State s Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Mr. Brendan Johnson
U.S. Attorney
District of South Dakota, United State s Department of Justice, Sioux Falls , SD
Ms. Pamela S. Hyde
Administrator
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC
Dr. Rose Weahkee
Director
Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) in the Office of Clinical and Preventive Services, Indian Health Service. Rockville, MD
Mr. Troy A. Eid
Chair
Indian Law and Order Commission, Denver, CO
Turtle Talk 
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