Here.
Podcast with Fletcher on Tribal Law and Order Act
Here.
tribal courts
New Cert Petition re: Tribal Court Jurisdiction (Sorta)
Here is the petition in Glacier Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. The Estate of Scott Sherburne: Glacier Electric Cert Petition.
Questions presented:
[T]he question presented is whether preclusion of the issue of tribal subject matter jurisdiction to hear a case bars the federal courts from considering whether Respondents may enforce in tribal court the relief they were granted there – a substantial money judgment – despite the lack of due process at the trial.
The Ninth Circuit’s summary disposition is here.
Navajo S.Ct. Asserts Jurisdiction over Nonmember Tortfeasor; Rejects Montana Analysis
Very interesting case, and since a prominent anti-tribal jurisdiction legal foundation filed an amicus brief in the matter, one suspects it will go to federal court. In EXC, Inc. v. Keyenta District Court (opinion here), the Navajo Supreme Court held that it would allow the Navajo trial court to hear a wrongful death action against a non-Indian owned tour bus that allegedly killed a Navajo man and an unborn Navajo fetus.
An excerpt:
We find that under the proposition in Strate, U.S. Highway 160 is not “equivalent to non-Indian alienated land for non-member governance purposes.” U.S. Highway 160 is part of the territory of the Navajo Nation for governance purposes over reservation matters as defined by 7 N.N.C. § 254(A) and 18 U.C.S. § 1151 and Montana-Strate is inapplicable.
here is no question that the events giving rise to this claim affected the health, safety and welfare of the Navajo Nation as well as members of the Navajo Nation, satisfying the Long-Arm Statute. The fatalities in this case were a Navajo father and fetus. We take judicial notice that the child, even the unborn child, occupies a space in Navajo culture that can best be described as holy or sacred, although neither of these words convey the child’s status accurately. The child is awę́ę́ t’áá’íídą́ą́’hiną́, alive at conception, and develops perfectly in the care of the mother. The umbilical cord, ííná bita’ nanít’í’, is the life line between the mother and unborn child. The mother, and now the surviving grandmother and aunts (RPIs) have the maternal role of Iíná Yę́sdá hi, which encompasses bearing, raising and teaching a child, as established by White Shell Woman in our journey narratives. See Riggs v. Estate of Tom Attakai, No. SC-CV-39-04, slip op. at 3 (Nav. Sup.Ct. June 13, 2007). It is in the interest of the Navajo Nation government that family members may bring action concerning their children in a Navajo Nation court that fully comprehends how such concerns should be treated on the basis of k’é.
Montana 2 Case at Rincon Band Dismissed under Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine
Here is the opinion in Rincon Mushroom Corp. v. Mazzetti (S.D. Cal.):
And this pleading, which seems to say it all: Rincon Band Motion to Dismiss
Painter-Thorne Article Criticizing Federal Jurisdiction over Sexual Assault on American Indian Women
Suzianne Painter-Thorne has posted her article “Tangled Up in Knots: How Continued Federal Jurisdiction Over Sexual Predators on Indian Reservations Hobbles Effective Law Enforcement to the Detriment of Indian Women” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
An Indian woman is two-and-a-half times more likely than any other American woman to be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Nevertheless, because of a confusing tangle of jurisdictional rules, she is four times less likely to see her assailant arrested. She is even less likely to see him stand trial. Because jurisdiction over most sexual assaults is vested in the federal government, Indian tribes are not allowed to arrest or prosecute most of the suspects who commit sexual assaults on tribal lands. Consequently, tribal lands have become safe havens for sexual predators, who can commit their offenses with impunity and with little fear of prosecution.
This article proposes that federal jurisdiction prevents effective law enforcement on Indian reservations and leaves Indian women at a greater risk of sexual assault. While the recently passed Tribal Law and Order Act seeks to improve reservation law enforcement, it fails to provide meaningful reform because it perpetuates the current law enforcement scheme that leaves Indian women vulnerable to sexual assault. Remote federal officials are not in the best position – geographically, politically, or culturally – to police reservation lands. Instead, Congress needs to reassess tribal jurisdiction, permitting tribes to arrest and prosecute suspects who commit sexual assaults on tribal lands. For too long, tribes have been left powerless to defend their own people against predators who enter reservation lands and commit unspeakable violence against tribal citizens. At the heart of sovereignty is the responsibility of government to protect its citizens. It is time to permit tribes to rise to this responsibility.
Blackfeet Tribe Amicus Brief in State Court Probate Jurisdiction Case
The case is captioned In re Estate of Big Spring (Mont. S. Ct.). Here is the brief: Blackfeet Amicus Brief.
An excerpt from the brief:
This case comes before this Court on the appeal of the Appellants from the decision of the Ninth Judicial District of Glacier County which ruled against a Motion to Dismiss by the Appellants based on the lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the estate of William Big Spring, II, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, who, at the time of his death was a resident of the Blackfeet Reservation and whose estate consisted of both trust and fee land solely within the exterior boundaries of the Blackfeet Reservation. The District Court stated that there was concurrent jurisdiction over this property and that the District Court was therefore the proper forum for the probate of this Indian-owned fee land.
Appellants argue that the State District Court is without jurisdiction over the probates of resident enrolled members of the Blackfeet Tribe. Appellants further state that the probate of the trust land of such persons is vested in the Administrative Courts of the United States and that the probate of the fee land is vested, exclusively in the Blackfeet Tribal Court. That is also the view of the Blackfeet Tribe as seen in this Amicus Brief.
Federal Court Dismisses Challenge to Choctaw Tribal Court Indian Child Adoption Matter
Here are the materials in Alexander v. Salazar (E.D. Okla.):
Tribal Court Judge Jurisdictional Brief
LVD Sorta Back to Normal
WATERSMEET — After nearly a week of courtrooms, protests, and imprisonment the Lac Vieux Desert Tribal Council plans to return to their reservation in Watersmeet.
According to their attorney, the nine-member council plans to return home and conduct business as usual until the tribal appellate court hears the case.
Monday dozens of council and tribal members protested outside of the Marquette Federal Courthouse saying they are political prisoners upholding the tribe’s constitution.
All nine members of the tribal council were jailed last week after refusing to swear in the new executive council due to alleged election problems.
GTB Election Challenge
Supplemental Pleading in LVD Case
Sounds like the federal habeas case is dead for now, as the LVD council is out of jail.
Turtle Talk 
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