Seventh Circuit Holds State May Not Tax Alienable Lands of Tribal Members on L.C.O. Reservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Evers:

Opinion.pdfDownload

Briefs and lower court materials here.

Washington COA Rejects Nooksack Disenrollees’ Tort Claims arising from Eviction

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Rabang v. Gilliland:

834568 Appellant ‘s.PDFDownload
834568 Respondent Chief Judge Raymond G. Dodge, Jr.’s.PDFDownload
834568 Appellant ‘s Reply.PDFDownload
Opinion.pdfDownload

South Dakota District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in Lower Brule Redistricting Suit

Matthew Campbell

Here is the order:

doc.-055-order-on-mtn-for-preliminary-injuction-granted-lower-brule-22cv3008-2022.08.11-004Download

The decision acknowledges that the county’s current redistricting plan would dilute the voting power of the Native community and requires the county commissioners to create a new plan for the county elections in November. “The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe remains ready to help Lyman County make positive changes on and off-reservation: let’s get started,” said plaintiff, voter, and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Vice Chairman Neil Russell.

More here. Previous post here.

Fletcher and Singel on Lawyering and the Indian Child Welfare Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Fletcher and Singel’s paper, “Lawyering the Indian Child Welfare Act,” has been published in the Michigan Law Review. We’re honored to be part of a symposium on civil rights lawyering!

Our abstract:

This Article describes how the statutory structure of child welfare laws enables lawyers and courts to exploit deep-seated stereotypes about American Indian people rooted in systemic racism to undermine the enforcement of the rights of Indian families and tribes. Even when Indian custodians and tribes are able to protect their rights in court, their adversaries use those same advantages on appeal to attack the constitutional validity of the law. The primary goal of this Article is to help expose those structural issues and the ethically troublesome practices of adoption attorneys as the most important Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) case in history, Brackeen v. Haaland, reaches the Supreme Court.

California Federal Court Rebuffs Coyote Valley Effort to Stop State Court Contract Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the updated materials in Coyote Band of Pomo Indians v. Findleton (N.D. Cal.):

61 Tribe Response to Motions to Dismiss.pdfDownload
62 Findleton Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
63 State Judge Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
64 Bank Motion to Dismiss.pdfDownload
80 Findleton Request for Judicial Notice of State Ct Sanctions Order.pdfDownload
81 Tribe Objection to Motion for Judicial Notice.pdfDownload
88 Tribe 3rd Request for TRO.pdfDownload
89 DCT Order.pdfDownload

Prior post here.

Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Suit against Mechoopda

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion in Engasser v. Tetra Tech Inc.

Briefs here.

New York Federal Court Declines to Enjoin Smoke Shops at Cayuga

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Cayuga Nation v. Parker (N.D. N.Y.):

59 DCT Order.pdfDownload
Akwesasne Notes, 1986

Prior post here.