tribal courts

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Western Sky v. Jackson

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order list.

Cert stage briefs are here.

Lower court materials here.

“The Complete Timeline of the Navajo Presidential Dispute”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Paul Spruhan has posted “The Complete Timeline of the Navajo Presidential Dispute.”

Federal Court Dismisses Wrongful Death Action against Mississippi Choctaw

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Payne v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (S.D. Miss.):

16 DCT Order Granting Motion to Dismiss

Pleadings here.

Materials (so far) in FMC v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Tribal Court Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Tribal Judgment)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

10 FMC Complaint

12 Tribe Answer

36 FMC Brief re Discovery

35 Tribe Brief re Discovery

37 FMC Response

38 Shoshone-Bannock Response

H/T to law360.

The tribal court decision below is here.

Native American Telecom (Crow Creek Sioux) Contract Breach Claims against Sprint Allowed to Proceed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here are the materials in Sprint Communications Company L.P. v. Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Court (D. S.D.):

182 Sprint Motion to Dismiss

190 Native American Telecom Opposition

196 Sprint Reply

234 DCT Order

We have posted on this case before:

SCOTUS Denies Cert in CashCall v. Inetianbor

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order list.

We posted the cert stage briefs here.

Lower court materials here.

District court materials here.

Leah Jurss on Creative Remedies for Tribes Extending Civil Infraction Systems over Non-Indians

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Our own Leah Jurss (MSU Law ’15, MSU Law Review EIC, White Earth Ojibwe) has published “Halting the Slide Down the Sovereignty Slope: Creative Remedies for Tribes Extending Civil Infraction Systems over Non-Indians” in the Rutgers Race and The Law Review.

An excerpt:

The best option for tribes is to work towards building open communications with non-Indians residing on reservations, non-Indians visiting reservations, and state and local governments surrounding reservations. These communications can help to build trust between all parties and a base of empirical evidence showing the effectiveness of tribal civil infraction systems. It is imperative that tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians not be reduced any more than it currently is to ensure the continuing success and viability of tribal nations themselves. A tribal nation that does not have the ability to protect itself from harmful outside influences via its tribal courts has little ability to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, a priority of all sovereign nations.

Materials in Wrongful Death Action against Mississippi Choctaw

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the briefs in Payne v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (S.D. Miss.):

12 Motion to Dismiss

15 Opposition

News coverage here.

Gun in Tulalip School Shooting Purchased Illegally

Ann Tweedy2 Comments

Here’s a Seattle Times article about the fact that the gun Jaylen Fryberg used to shoot himself and several classmates in Marysville, Washington last fall was purchased illegally by his father. The father was subject to a permanent tribal restraining order for a domestic assault in 2002. Although the 2002 domestic assault predated the amendment to the federal law (see 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)) that disallowed those convicted in tribal court for domestic violence crimes from owning guns, the elder Fryberg had been convicted of violating the restraining order after that amendment became effective. Therefore, the problem appears to have been that the tribal court information did not make it into the federal database.

ABA Journal Article on the Implementation of VAWA’s Tribal Jurisdictional Provisions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Indian tribes are retaking jurisdiction over domestic violence on their own land.”