Turtle Talk

Here is the opinion in Kenneth D. that holds an appellate court may not consider postjudgment evidence to determine whether a trial court’s error was harmless.

Available briefs:

Petitioner’s Opening Brief

Answer Brief

Eastern Band Cherokee SCT Issues Opinion on Sovereign Immunity

August 23, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Campos v. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians:

Campos sovereign immunity ruling.pdf Download

South Dakota SCT Declines to Grant Full Faith and Credit to Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal Court Divorce Decree

August 23, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Torgerson v. Torgerson:

Opinion.pdf Download

Virginia Federal Court Dismisses Winnebago Effort to Reclaim Indian Children’s Remains

August 22, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the new pleadings in Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army (E.D.Va.):

45 Reply

50 DCT Order

Prior posts here and here.

Kirsten Carlson on Access to Justice in the Shadow of Colonialism

August 21, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Kirsten Matoy Carlson has posted “Access to Justice in the Shadow of Colonialism,” published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

The legal needs of most Americans go unmet, but American Indians and Alaska Natives face particular challenges in seeking access to justice. This article describes the complexity of access to justice issues in Native communities. Access to justice in Indian Country exists in the shadow of colonialism. The legacy of settler colonialism, including the imposition of unfamiliar laws and legal processes, has and continues to affect what justice means and how it is experienced by tribal governments, Native communities, and individual Natives. Understanding this unique backdrop encourages access to justice scholars to reconsider the centrality of power dynamics to access to justice.