Turtle Talk

Friday Job Announcements

November 16, 2018November 20, 2018Neoshia Roemer

Job vacancies are posted on Fridays. Any posts received prior to 12pm EST on Friday will appear in that Friday’s announcements. If you would like to submit a post for an open Indian law or leadership job, please send a brief description of the position and a PDF job announcement to indigenous@law.msu.edu.

Navajo Housing Authority

General Counsel, Window Rock, A.Z. The Navajo Housing Authority is seeking an attorney to provide in-house counsel and legal services to NHA leadership and the Board of Commissioners. Please see the job announcement for more information. Applications close on December 3, 2018.

Navajo Nation Judicial Branch

Associate Attorney, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position provides a variety of legal advice, research and related legal services in support of the overall operation of the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch; assists with judicial administrative functions, such as researching and recommending policy changes and improvements for overall Judicial Branch. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.

Court Solicitor, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position provides a variety of legal advice, counseling, research and related legal services in support of the overall operation of the Navajo Nation Judicial Branch; assists with judicial administrative functions, such as recommending policy changes and improvements for overall Judicial Branch; shall supervise and oversee all licensed attorneys, law clerk, hearing officers, supreme court clerk, and law clerk interns of the Judicial Branch. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.

District Court Judge, Judicial District Court, Navajo Nation Wide. The District Court Judge is responsible in presiding over civil, criminal and family court cases; provides policy direction and guidance in the operation of the Judicial District. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.

Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, AZ. This position shall perform work of unusual difficulty, hear arguments, read briefs and conduct research necessary to pass judgment and issue rulings on cases brought before the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. For more information, please see the position description or to apply, visit http://www.navajocourts.org. This position is open until filled.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

2019 Diversity Summer Fellowship, U.S. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is now accepting applications for its Diversity Summer Fellowship. NACDL is seeking applicants from 1Ls and 2Ls from historically underrepresented backgrounds who demonstrate a commitment to criminal justice. Potential placements are located throughout the U.S. Fellows will receive a weekly stipend of $500 for up to eight weeks of work with a selected criminal defense placement. Applications must be submitted by December 3, 2018 at 11:59pm. The application form and instructions can be found at www.nacdl.org/summerfellowship. Please submit all documents in one PDF via email to summerfellowship@nacdl.org.

Fort Belknap Indian Community

Chief Administration Officer, Harlem, M.T. The Fort Belknap Indian Community is seeking an experienced Chief Administration Officer to provide efficient management to the FBIC staff and also provide leadership. Please contact Fort Belknap Human Resources for a complete job description. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit application, resume, letter of interest, and salary requirements to the Fort Belknap Human Resources Department at 656 Agency Main St., Harlem, Montana 59526. You may contact Andrea Crantz at (406) 353-8464 or Fanci Boushie (406) 353-8452.

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)

Policy Counsel, Washington D.C. The National Congress of American Indians has an opening for an attorney to serve as Policy Counsel in the Washington, DC office. The Policy Counsel will report to the General Counsel and will have responsibility for a portfolio of legal and policy issues that may include: inter-agency coordination, taxation, tribal sovereignty, the federal trust responsibility, tribal lands, environment and natural resources, and other issues of importance to Indian tribal governments. In addition, the incumbent will provide legal counsel and services under the direction of the General Counsel, which may include contract review, reviewing and drafting internal policies and governance documents, and providing other general legal support. Applications close on December 7, 2018. Please see the website for more information.

Last week’s postings: November 9, 2018.

2018 TICA/MSU ILPC Conference Ethics Panel: Professional Responsibility and Ethical Obligations

November 16, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Nikki Borchardt Campbell, T.J. McReynolds, Kaighn Smith, and Yasmeen Farrah

Seattle Is U.S. City with the Most Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women

November 16, 2018Ann Tweedy

Here.

Ninth Circuit Briefs in California Valley Miwok Tribe v. Zinke

November 16, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

appellant-brief.pdf

tribal-appellee-brief1.pdf

federal-answer-brief.pdf

reply-1.pdf

Oral argument video here.

Lower court materials here.

2018 TICA/MSU ILPC Conference Panel #7: Litigating Difficult ICWA Cases

November 16, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Annette Nickel, Tom Murphy, and April Olson

2018 TICA/MSU ILPC Conference Panel #6: Carpenter v. Murphy Overview and Implications

November 16, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Sara Hill, Stephen Greetham, Debra Gee, and Phil Tinker

Colorado Court of Appeals ICWA Case on Burden of Proof and Application

November 16, 2018ilpc

Opinion here.

ICWA requires two things to apply–an “Indian child” and a “child custody proceeding”. Once both of those things are met, then the court has to apply the heightened standards required by the law. This decision out of Colorado wrestles with when to apply the heightened burdens. There are four “child custody proceedings” under ICWA: a foster care proceeding, a termination of parental rights proceeding, a pre-adoptive placement, and an adoptive placement. In a standard state child custody case, there is an emergency/shelter care/preliminary/24-72 hour hearing, then an adjudicatory/jurisdictional hearing, followed by dispositional/review hearings, and finally permanency hearings. They don’t neatly map on to the ICWA defined proceedings, so the question of when to apply the heightened burden of proof can be up for debate. Because the adjudicatory hearing is the time when the court decides whether the state has met its burden to intrude on the family’s life and whether the court therefore has jurisdiction to do so, ICWA advocates often argue that the court should apply heightened standards at that very important hearing. However, it’s also often true that state has already removed a child, so it is technically not a “foster care proceeding” because the child is already in foster care. The Colorado Court of Appeals here decided the heightened burden has to apply to the dispositional hearing, where the Court determines the placement of a child (any proceeding that may result in a foster care placement, even if the child is placed back with a parent is subject to ICWA standards).

The Court also holds that a lack of notice does not deprive the state court of subject matter jurisdiction, and that ICWA applies until it is determined the child is not an Indian child.

Tenth Circuit Affirms Enable Oklahoma Intrastate Transmission LLC v. A 25 Foot Wide Easement

November 16, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion. An excerpt:

Plaintiff Enable Oklahoma Intrastate Transmission, LLC, appeals the district court’s dismissal of its case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to join an indispensable party. Enable also challenges the amount of attorney fees the court awarded to the landowner defendants. Because our decision in Public Service Company of New Mexico v. Barboan, 857 F.3d 1101 (10th Cir. 2017), is dispositive of the subject matter jurisdiction issue, we affirm the district court’s order dismissing the action. We likewise affirm the attorney fees award as consistent with Oklahoma law.

Briefs and lower court materials here.