The two questions presented in Carcieri v. Kempthorne have significant import for much of Indian Country. But it might be a mistake to conclude the first question (whether the Secretary can take land into trust for tribes that were not federally recognized in 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed) is an Indian law question. The outcome of that question may turn on the Supreme Court’s decision in National Cable & Communications Assn v. Brand X Internet Services, 545 U.S. 967 (2005). Huh?!?!?
Consider the United States’ brief in opposition to the petition for cert:
As this Court held in [Brand X], a “judicial precedent” does not “foreclose an agency from interpreting an ambiguous statute” in a reasonable way that differs from the “court’s opinion as to the best reading” of the statute, unless “the prior court decision holds that its construction follows from the unambiguous terms of the statute and thus leaves no room for agency discretion.” [Brand X, at 982-83.]
Cert Opp at 9.
Turtle Talk 