cert petition

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Apache Stronghold v. US over Lengthy Gorsuch Dissent

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list, with the dissent beginning on page 6.

An excerpt:

While this Court enjoys the power to choose which cases it will hear, its decision to shuffle this case off our docket without a full airing is a grievous mistake—one with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations. Just imagine if the government sought to demolish a historic cathedral on so questionable a chain of legal reasoning. I have no doubt that we would find that case worth our time. Faced with the government’s plan to destroy an ancient site of tribal worship, we owe the Apaches no less. They may live far from Washington, D. C., and their history and religious practices may be unfamiliar to many. But that should make no difference. “Popular religious views are easy enough to defend. It is in protecting unpopular religious beliefs that we prove this country’s commitment to . . . religious freedom.” Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n, 584 U. S. 617, 649 (2018) (GORSUCH, J., concurring).

Prior posts here,

Maverick Gaming LLP v. United States Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Maverick Cert PetitionDownload

Questions presented:

Whether Rule 19 requires dismissal of APA suits challenging federal agency action whenever a nonparty who benefited from that action asserts sovereign immunity.

Lower court materials here.

Arizona DCT Stays Oak Flat Land Transfer Pending SCT Cert Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Apache Stronghold v. United States (D. Ariz.):

150 Motion for Emergency Stay

156 Copper Company Response

157 Federal Response

162 Reply ISO 150

170 DCT Order

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Sault Tribe Trust Acquisition Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list.

Cert stage briefs here.

SCOTUS Denies HCI Tax Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list.

Cert stage materials in HCI Distribution Inc. v. Hilgers are here.

Federal BIO in Sault Tribe Gaming Lands Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the brief in Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Burgam:

Federal BIODownload

Cert petition here.

South Point Energy v. Arizona DOR Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in South Point Energy Center LLC v. Arizona Dept. of Revenue:

Cert Petition.pdfDownload

Lower court materials here.

Arizona BIO

Lexington Insurance Co. v. Mueller Cert Petition [Cabazon]

ilpc

Here:

Cert Petition.pdfDownload

Brief in Opposition

Lower court materials here.

Bibeau v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Bibeau Cert Petition.pdfDownload

Lower court materials here.

Saul-Suiattle Amicus Brief.pdfDownload

Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Haaland Cert Petition [all cert stage briefs]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Petition.pdfDownload

Questions presented:

The Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (“MILCSA”) established a Self-Sufficiency Fund for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to receive judgment funds that settled claims against the United States for the unconscionable taking of tribal lands. The statute, which codified a negotiated agreement between the Tribe and the United States, gave the Tribe’s Board of Directors exclusive authority over the Self-Sufficiency Fund, including determinations about the proper use of Fund capital and interest. The broad purposes for which the Tribe may expend Fund interest under MILCSA include the “enhancement of tribal lands.” §108(c)(5). And MILCSA requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold in trust “[a]ny lands” acquired with Fund interest. §108(f). The questions presented are:

  1. Whether Congress delegated to the Department of the Interior under MILCSA the authority to reject a mandatory trust submission based on the agency’s own view about whether the purchase of land satisfied §108(c), notwithstanding the statutory command that “[a]ny lands acquired using amounts from interest or other income of the [Tribe’s] Self-Sufficiency Fund shall be held in trust by the Secretary [of the Interior] for the benefit of the tribe.” §108(f).
  2. Whether “enhancement of tribal lands” in §108(c)(5) of MILCSA includes a land acquisition that adds to or augments the size of the Tribe’s total landholdings.

Lower court materials here.

Additional briefs:

cert_opposition

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