Supreme Court

Penn Law and Field Center Panel on ICWA [more post-argument discussion]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

This was Part II, Part I was here.

Harvard Law Review Profiles of Denezpi and Ysleta del Sur Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the profile of Denezpi v. United States.

Here is the profile of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas.

Justice Story’s finger in the Harvard law school library.

Fletcher and Khalil on ICWA and Preemption

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Posted an earlier draft of this before, but here is the all-but-final version, now available on SSRN here.

Here is “Preemption, Commandeering, and the Indian Child Welfare Act,” published in the Wisconsin Law Review.

Texas better do what it’s told.

SCTOUS Grants United States and Arizona Petitions in Navajo Water Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here was yesterday’s order.

Prior post here.

Thinking if SCOTUS had some good frybread, they’d let Indian country have the nice things we deserve, like an enforceable duty of protection.

Four White Men to Argue Brackeen

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

It’s now been 21+ years since the last Indigenous person argued a Supreme Court; 39 tribal or individual Indian parties since that time.

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Oklahoma Indian Status Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is yesterday’s order list.

The Oklahoma case was Oklahoma v. Wadkins. Lower court materials here.

The Court also denied cert in the Clarkson case.

Slockish v. Dept. of Transportation Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

slockish-petitionDownload

Question presented:

Whether the Ninth Circuit’s mootness ruling warrants summary reversal where the panel clearly misapprehended governing law on mootness and on the authority of federal courts to order equitable relief affecting nonparties.

Lower court materials here.

Long Conference Update: SCOTUS Denies Cert in a Several Indian Law Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is yesterday’s order list.

1. The Court denied cert in Acres v. Marston, part of a longstanding — and by now patently ridiculous — effort by a nonmember to punish an Indian tribe’s employees for working at the tribe. The petition is here (the respondent’s waived the right to respond):

Acres Cert Petition.pdfDownload

2. The Court also denied cert in Mill Bay Members Assn. v. United States, another petition related to a longstanding effort by nonmembers to punish an Indian tribe for existing, this time by suing the federal government. The petition is here (the government waived the right to respond):

Mill Bay Members Cert Petition.pdfDownload

3. The Court also denied cert in Becker v. Ute Indian Tribe, a case about tribal exhaustion with a plausible, if weak, circuit split — perhaps, again, because this is a longstanding, ridiculous dispute between a nonmember and tribe (both sides ridiculous this time). The cert stage briefs are here.

4. The Court, finally, denied cert in Quaempts v. Lopez, an unremarkable sovereign immunity matter.

Having fun with DALL-E: “Darth Vader arguing with a tribal judge about fish.”