Here are the materials in Lambert v. Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes (D. Mont.):
Criminal
Opening Merits Brief in U.S. v. Bryant
NIWRC Urges the Supreme Court to Uphold Firearm Protections for Native Survivors of Domestic Violence
Link to press release here.
Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents here.
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center submitted an amicus in support of the DOJ’s case against two Maine men who violated federal law for possessing firearms when convicted of domestic violence. The men argue that their reckless misdemeanors shouldn’t bar them from owning guns.
“Petitioners attempt to conflate ‘reckless’ domestic violence crimes with ‘accidents,’” NIWRC’s attorney, Mary Kathryn Nagle, a partner at Pipestem Law, PC, states. “Domestic violence crimes prosecuted under tribal law, however, are not accidents. Tribal Courts that prosecute for ‘reckless’ domestic violence crimes establish a standard that requires demonstrating the defendant acted with a ‘conscious disregard’ for the safety and welfare of the defendant’s intimate partner. There is no doubt Congress intended for the Lautenberg Amendment to cover these crimes.”
Six Tribes signed onto the brief: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa, Nottaweseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, Seminole Nation, and Tulalip Tribes. They are urging the Supreme Court to uphold the convictions for VAWA and Native women, who are more at risk to gun and domestic violence by repeat offenders.
En Banc Petition in Kelsey v. Pope
8th Circuit Finds Tribal Cop Working under BIA Contract was Federal Officer when Assaulted
Link to memorandum in re U.S. v. Janis (Jan. 15 2016) here.
Defendant’s brief here and reply brief here.
United States’ brief here.
Previous coverage here.
Defendant raised two questions on appeal: (1) whether officers in the Dept. of Public Safety on the Pine Ridge Reservation are federal officers authorized to carry out tribal law and (2) whether the court erred in instructing the jury to find Officer Mousseau a federal officer as a matter of law.
The Eighth Circuit held that through the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act a “638 contract” between the BIA and the Oglala Sioux Tribe explicitly required officers to enforce both tribal and federal laws.
However, it decided that the district court erred on jury instructions because although it was correct to rule as a matter-of-law that Oglala Sioux’s Public Safety officers were federal officers for the purpose of 18 U.S.C. § 111, it should have been up to the jury to determine whether Officer Mousseau was a Dept. of Public Safety officer at the time of the assault. The Court determined the error was harmless, though, since evidence on record made it clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would find Mousseau an officer when she responded to a complaint of illegal alcohol consumption at a home on the Reservation.
United States Accepts Concurrent Jurisdiction Over Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Department of Justice Press Release here.
The decision will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017. Tribal, state and county prosecutors and law enforcement agencies will also continue to have criminal jurisdiction on the reservation.
“We believe this decision – made after a careful review of the tribe’s application and the facts on the ground – will strengthen public safety and the criminal justice system serving the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe,” said Deputy Attorney General Yates. “This is another step forward in the Justice Department’s commitment to serve and protect American Indian and Alaska Native communities, to deal with them on a government-to-government basis and to fulfill the historic promise of the Tribal Law and Order Act. Strong law enforcement partnerships with the Tribe, as well as state and local counterparts, will be essential to the success of this effort.”
Mille Lacs is the second tribe to be granted concurrent jurisdiction under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. White Earth received concurrent jurisdiction status in 2013.
Former Federal Official that Stole Indian Ancestors Pleads Guilty
Here is the press release titled “Former Effigy Mounds National Monument Superintendent Admits to Stealing Human Remains:
Sixth Circuit Rules in Favor of Little River Band in Kelsey v. Pope
NCAI Cert Stage Amicus Brief in Jury Race Discrimination Challenge in State Court
Here is the brief filed in Rodriguez v. Colorado:
Turtle Talk 
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