trust relationship – Page 7

Ninth Circuit Briefs in Alturas Indian Rancheria v. Haaland

August 9, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Alturas Opening Brief.pdf Download

Federal Answer Brief.pdf Download

Here are the district court materials:

1 Complaint.pdf Download

18-1 Federal MTD.pdf Download

21 Opposition.pdf Download

24 Reply.pdf Download

31 [minute order dismissing case]

32 Judgment.pdf Download

Jemez Pueblo Sues United States over the Post Office

August 1, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Pueblo of Jemez v. United States (D.N.M.):

1 Complaint.pdf Download

*Also NOT the post office, but down the road over in Jemez Springs. Maybe this is where the Indian affairs people went for fun.*

Northern Cheyenne Tribe Sues Interior over Reservation Policing

July 20, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Northern Cheyenne Tribe v. United States (D. Mont.):

1 Complaint.pdf Download

1-1 Exhibit 1.pdf Download

Dept. of Justice [almost certainly over Interior’s objections] and Arizona File Cert Petitions in Navajo Nation Water Rights Trust Suit

July 18, 2022July 18, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in Dept. of the Interior v. Navajo Nation:

US Cert Petition.pdf Download

Question presented:

Whether the federal government owes the Navajo Nation an affirmative, judicially enforceable fiduciary duty to assess and address the Navajo Nation’s need for water from particular sources, in the absence of any substantive source of law that expressly establishes such a duty.

Here is the petition and the partial acquiescence by Justice in Arizona v. Navajo Nation:

Arizona v. Navajo Nation Cert Petition.pdf Download

US Response — Arizona v. Navajo Nation.pdf Download

Questions presented:

I. Does the Ninth Circuit Opinion, allowing the Nation to proceed with a claim to enjoin the Secretary to develop a plan to meet the Nation’s water needs and manage the mainstream of the LBCR so as not to in- terfere with that plan, infringe upon this Court’s re- tained and exclusive jurisdiction over the allocation of water from the LBCR mainstream in Arizona v. California?
II. Can the Nation state a cognizable claim for breach of trust consistent with this Court’s holding in Jicarilla based solely on unquantified implied rights to water under the Winters Doctrine?

Lower court materials here.