Turtle Talk

Darnell was convicted on March 9, 2017 in two cases before the Tribal Court of tampering with records, fraudulent handling of recordable instruments, and misuse of tribal funds. Although initially released on a cash bond pending sentencing, Darnell was subsequently arrested and has been incarcerated in the Brown County, Kansas Jail since March 31, 2017. On April 14, 2017, Darnell filed her petition for a writ of habeas corpus (the “Petition”). On April 24, 2017, Darnell was sentenced to 18 months and 22 months incarceration, to run concurrently, on her conviction in the two cases. On May 4, 2017, Darnell filed a supplement to her Petition. In her Petition and supplement, Darnell alleges that the Tribal Court committed a number of errors and improprieties with regard to her trial, sentencing, and incarceration, and that she was deprived of her liberty without due process of law as required under the Indian Civil Rights Act. Lemon served as Special Prosecutor for the Kickapoo Tribe in prosecuting Darnell and tried her jury trial that is the subject of this habeas corpus action.

“Enforcement of Tribal Protection Orders in California”

June 19, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

New Article on Racial Bias in Evidence Rules

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017Ann Tweedy1 Comment

Jasmine Gonzales Rose has posted Toward a Critical Race Theory of Evidence on ssrn. The article is forthcoming in the Minnesota Law Review.

Here’s the abstract:

Scholars, judges, and lawyers have long believed that evidence rules apply equally to all persons regardless of race. This Article challenges this assumption and reveals how evidence law structurally disadvantages people of color. A critical race analysis of stand-your-ground defenses, cross-racial eyewitness misidentifications, and minority flight from racially-targeted police profiling and violence uncovers the existence of a dual-race evidentiary system. This system is reminiscent of nineteenth century race-based witness competency rules that barred people of color from testifying against white people. I deconstruct this problem and introduce the original concept of “racialized reality evidence.” This construct demonstrates how evidence of people of color’s lived experiences of systemic racism are regularly excluded at trial, while evidence of white norms and beliefs receives “implicit judicial notice.” Finally, I advocate for a new critical race theory of evidence law and offer solutions — including a reinterpretation of Federal Rule of Evidence 403 — to increase equality in the courtroom.

NYTs: “Indigenous Canadians Challenge an Exclusive American Fishing Camp”

June 18, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

NYTs: “Name Your Pick for TrumpWorld’s Worst Cabinet Member” [Spoiler — It’s Jeff Sessions]

June 17, 2017Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here.

An excerpt:

“So many choices,” said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. At first Ornstein refused to pick for Worst, arguing that the contest for most awful cabinet member should be treated like a kid’s athletic competition where everybody’s a winner. In the end, however, he went for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (“Racist on voting rights and more, bringing back mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, promoting the cancer of private prisons.”)

Alaska ICWA Qualified Expert Witness and Active Efforts Case

June 16, 2017Kate Fort

Here.

This case delves deeply into the qualifications of a qualified expert witness under the 2015 BIA Guidelines. Those requirements were pretty specific, and as the court points out, prioritized cultural knowledge of the child’s tribe.

The 2015 Guidelines don’t govern cases initiated AFTER December 12, 2016, and instead the federal regulation (81 Fed. Reg. 38873; 25 CFR pt. 23.122) provides the definition and context of qualified expert witnesses. That definition (“a qualified expert witness must be qualified to testify regarding whether the child’s continued custody by the parent or or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child and should be qualified to testify as to the prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child’s Tribe”) provides far less guidance to the court as to who can be a QEW. The regulation further states a QEW may be designated by the child’s tribe, and may not be the “social worker regularly assigned to” the child. The 2016 Guidelines now argue that specific professional knowledge might be more important than cultural knowledge. That may have been more helpful to the parent’s argument in this case.

Friday Job Announcements

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017Sarah M Donnelly1 Comment

Job vacancies are posted on Friday. Some announcements might still appear throughout the week. If you would like your Indian law job posted on Turtle Talk, please email indigenous@law.msu.edu.

Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

DV Prosecutor. Responsible for prosecution of Domestic Violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking cases on the Menominee Indian Reservation and coordinate and work with the Courts, Law Enforcement, Probation-Parole, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Assault Workers to reduce domestic violence on the Menominee Reservation and encourage arrest procedures and enforcement of protection orders. Apply online.

Swinomish Tribe

Staff Attorney. To apply, submit the following: Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Employment Application (you may request this application via email); Office of Tribal Attorney Application Addendum; over letter including an explanation of the applicant’s interest in the position, along with current resume, the names and contact information for at least 3 professional references, and two writing samples to:

Wendy A. Otto
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
11404 Moorage Way
La Conner, Washington 98257
E-mail: wotto@swinomish.nsn.us

Chickasaw Nation

Associate General Counsel, Ada, OK. Provide CNDC leadership with sound and solution-oriented legal representation and policy analysis. Job ID: 49415

Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson, & Perry LLP

2018 Summer Associates. A national law firm dedicated to representing Native American interests in a wide range of endeavors – including trial and appellate litigation, federal Indian law, tribal law, Indian self-determination and self-governance matters, transportation and infrastructure, natural resources, and economic development, among others – is currently recruiting incoming 2L students for 2018 summer associate positions. Interested applicants should send the following to Will Stephens, Partner at wstephens@sonosky.com (please also copy kwray@sonosky.com):