Ninth Circuit Briefs in Newtok Village v. Patrick

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Appellant Brief

Appellee Brief

Lower court materials here.

Kongiganack Tribal Village Judge John Phillip Sr. Walks On

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Honorable Judge John Phillip, Sr. Walks On, 6/24/2021

Honorable Judge John Phillip of the Traditional Village of Kongiganak died June 25, 2021 peacefully at home in his native village in Kongiganak, Alaska.

Judge Phillip began serving as one of three first judges in the small coastal village over 30 years ago. The Traditional Village of Kongiganak is a coastal village near the mouth of the Bering Sea and the Kukokwim River in Southwest Alaska.

Judge Phillip is believed to have been the oldest living tribal judge in the United States and served his community through peaceful and wise traditional love. Judge Phillip is also believed to have been the longest serving tribal judge in Alaska, having served the Kongiganak Tribal Court for 30+ years, oftentimes as a volunteer when the Kongiganak Tribal Court had no funding to pay judges.

His quiet passion for justice was delivered in his Yup’ik language, and when Judge Phillip spoke, his reverent respect for justice was felt whether he was translated or not. His wisdom will be truly missed in the village and throughout Alaska.

Judge John Phillip, Sr. was 95 years old.

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Two Indian Law Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list.

Here are the cert petitions in the two denied cases, Phillips v. Oneida Indian Nation and Pierson v. Hudson Insurance Company (Pierson Cert Petition).

William Starna on the Tax Implications of the 1794 Treaty of Canadaigua

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

William A. Starna has published “The 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua and The Taxation of Native Americans” in Tax Notes Federal:

Tax Notes Federal 6-2021

Strict Scrutiny Podcast on the Yellen v. Chehalis Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. It’s near the end, but a lengthy, substantive discussion.

SCOTUS Holds 6-3 that ANCs are “Indian Tribes” Eligible for CARES Act Funding

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

Materials here.

Appointment of Counsel Case out of OK Supreme Court [ICWA]

Kate Fort
in-the-matter-of-i.t.s_Download

In a classic “ICWA means what it says” case (that means there is a lot of writing about dictionary definitions of terms in this opinion), the Oklahoma Supreme Court held a court can’t deny an indigent parent appointment of counsel for two years prior to a termination of parental rights filing. 

The trial court’s discharge of Mother’s court-appointed counsel left her without legal representation: 1) during her twin daughters’ removal from one relative foster home to another; 2) at all of the court-ordered ISP review/permanency hearings, which the record establishes she regularly attended; 3) during the Post-Adjudication Review Board (PARB) meeting held January 2017, when the Board advised Mother “to obtain legal aid to obtain custody of her children” and “DHS to help her complete this application”;19 and 4) at the August 23, 2017 hearing, during which the trial court approved DHS’ termination of trial reunification. Based on our interpretation of § 1912(b), Mother was required to have court-appointed counsel during the entire foster care placement proceeding.