The case is Morigeau v. Gorman and here are the materials:
tribal courts
FTCA Judgment Favoring Former BIA Criminal Investigator
Here is the opinion: Garvais v US
An excerpt:
The ultimate Finding of Fact in this matter is that the BIA maliciously caused the institution and continuation of unfounded criminal proceedings against Duane Garvais in Spokane Tribal Court in retaliation for the proper performance of his duties in investigating thefts by BIA patrol officers with close connections to the Tribe. As stated, those charges were ultimately dismissed pursuant to the finding of this court that the Spokane Tribal Court did not have jurisdiction over Mr. Garvais.
The court finds that Mr. Garvais and his family suffered substantial emotional distress and turmoil as the result of the wrongful action of the BIA at the behest of and in association with the Spokane Tribal Council and its agents and employees. This emotional distress continued over a period of years, including Mr. Garvais having to seek habeas corpus relief in this court. The court finds that just compensation to Mr. Garvais is in the amount of $ 400,000 plus the sum of $ 13,102.66 billed by Mr. Weatherhead’s law firm Witherspoon, Davenport, & Toole.
Dine Fundamental Law Survives Another Day
From the Santa Fe New Mexican via Pechanga:
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has vetoed legislation that he contends limits the Navajo way of life.
Lawmakers voted last month to amend a set of laws based on the tribe’s centuries-old traditional values and customs. Under the measure, any dispute regarding the validity, application or interpretation of Dine (Din-EH’) Fundamental Law would not be heard in Navajo courts but be resolved consensually through peacemaking.
Shirley struck down the measure last week, saying the laws protect and preserve the Navajo way of life and what makes the tribal government unique. He also says the council’s vote was politically motivated.
Lawmakers can override the veto with 59 votes, representing two-thirds of the 88-member Tribal Council.
Job Announcement: NICS Prosecutor
WSJ Article on Asian Carp Issue
From the WSJ via How Appealing:
![[SEPARATE]](https://i0.wp.com/sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-BE297_SEPARA_NS_20100215193223.gif)
More than a century ago, this city reversed the flow of its eponymous river, connecting the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico and defining itself as the can-do capital of the American heartland.
Today, that engineering feat is coming under growing scrutiny, as scientists and politicians intensify their battle against a voracious flying fish that has been traveling up the Mississippi for 20 years. Amid signs that Asian carp have breached the last defensive barrier, calls are mounting for a massive do-over.
“We know these barriers aren’t working,” said Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the lead author of a 2008 report that laid out how this project might look. “An ecological separation is the only permanent solution.”
Fletcher, Fort, and Singel on Michigan Indian Country Cross-Deps
Indian Country Law Enforcement and Cooperative Public Safety Agreements
Michigan Bar Journal, Vol. 89, p. 42, February 2010, MSU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-02
Matthew L. M. Fletcher , Kathryn Fort and Wenona Singel
Tenth Circuit Briefing in Muscogee (Creek) Nation Tribal Court Jurisdiction Case
[Links have been restored, May 28, 2010.]
Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. v. Stidham, Appellant
Lower court order is here.
Morrison v. Spang — Tribal Court Exhaustion in ICRA Habeas Proceeding
Here are the materials from the District court in Montana:
Bustamante v. Valenzuela Magistrate Report Rejects Consecutive Tribal Court Sentences
Here is the magistrate R&R in this matter, a companion case to Miranda v. Nielson (D. Ariz.), though a different federal judge will review this report, so we’ll see.
Bustamante Report and Recommendation
Briefs are here.
28 U.S.C. 1362 Doesn’t Waive Tribal Sovereign Immunity
Well, someone was bound to try it. 🙂
Turner v. McGee (N.D. Okla.)
An excerpt:
Petitioner, a member of the Kiowa Tribe, has brought this pro se action seeking injunctive relief against four administrative law judges employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Respondents as administrative law judges preside over cases brought before the Court of Indian Offenses for the Kiowa Tribe. Petitioner seeks injunctive relief relative to decisions rendered by respondents while acting in their official capacities as administrative law judges.Indian tribal governments, such as the Kiowa Tribe, enjoy immunity from suit the same as any other sovereign power. Tribal governments are subject to suit only where suit has been expressly authorized by Congress or the tribe has waived its immunity. * * *
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