California Supreme Court

Morongo Band Challenge to California Water Resources Control Board Fails in CA S.Ct.

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. State Water Resources Control Board. Here is an exceprt:

In an administrative proceeding to revoke a water license, does it violate the license holder’s constitutional right to due process of law, as the Court of Appeal held here, for the agency attorney prosecuting the matter before the State Water Resources Control Board to simultaneously serve as an advisor to that board on an unrelated matter? We conclude that the answer is no, and we therefore reverse the Court of Appeal’s judgment.

Goldsmith on the Agua Caliente State Election Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Gary Goldsmith has published “Big Spenders in State Elections–Has Financial Participation by Indian Tribes Defined the Limits of Tribal Sovereign Immunity From Suit” in the William Mitchell Law Review.

From the introduction:

In every election cycle, Indian tribes vigorously attempt to influence such critical matters of state governance as to who will be the state’s governor, who will be elected to the state’s legislative bodies, and what will be the provisions of the state’s constitution. These incursions into the realm of state governance have renewed questions about the sovereignty of Indian tribes in relation to the states’ sovereignty.
In order to understand those conflicting rights, this article will review the historical roots of legal doctrine regarding the position of Indian tribes with respect to the United States government and each state’s government. It will then trace significant doctrinal changes that arose as the result of changing political and cultural attitudes toward Indians. Finally, it will address new theories raised in Agua Caliente v. California FPPC and will comment on the California Supreme Court’s resolution of the constitutional issues and the parties’ eventual Stipulation for Judgment in that matter.