cert petition

ICT Article on Local Support for Gun Lake Casino

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the article (h/t Pechanga). And an excerpt:

More than 15 entities, including Wayland Township, Allegan County, the Allegan Area Education Service Agency, the cities of Wayland and Allegan, the Barry County Chamber of Commerce, the Barry County Economic Development Alliance, the Gun Lake Business Association, and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Michigan have filed a collective amici curiae – friend of the court – brief in the petition for certiorari filed with the high court by the Interior Department and the Match-E-Nash-E-Wish Band of Pottawatomi (the Gun Lake Tribe) Indians versus David Patchak. The high court has been asked to review a ruling issued by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last January that said Patchak, a former trustee in Wayland County, Michigan, has standing to bring a lawsuit against the Interior Department for taking into trust 147 acres in Bradley, Michigan, near Grand Rapids where the tribe operates its casino. The casino, which opened in February, created 900 new jobs and has brought a new wave of prosperity to local hotels, restaurants, vendors and other businesses in an area that had a reported 11.9 percent unemployment rate.

“Collectively, the amici curiae represent numerous individuals and businesses that support and have been positively affected by the Band’s economic development activities on the trust land. They submit this brief to explain the substantial local benefits that arise from the cooperative and mutually reinforcing economic development efforts of the Band, the regional governments, and local businesses,” the amici wrote. “The amici curiae urge this Court to grant the petitions for certiorari to resolve the debilitating uncertainty and economic instability created by the court of appeals’ decision, which threatens to stifle economic development in a state and region that has endured a disproportionate amount of economic suffering in recent years.”

NCAI Cert Stage Amicus Brief in Patchak Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

QL-sPBR1pnL

Local Units of Government and Business Groups File Amicus in Favor of Cert Petition in Gun Lake/Salazar v. Patchak

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

Wayland Twp Amicus Brief

See, I wasn’t joking when I said this here:

“Wayland and its surrounding townships long have hoped for more industry and economic growth – I know, I grew up there. So it’s just one guy for all we know who doesn’t want that. He’s pretty firmly in a tiny minority,” Fletcher said.

Tax Protesters Petition Opposing Native Hawaiians is SCOTUSBlog Petition of the Day

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Seems odd to me, but maybe SCOTUSblog thinks of the Native Hawaiians and the State of Hawaii as a disfavored party in the Supreme Court.

Here:

Corboy v. Louie

Docket: 11-336 
Issue(s): (1) Whether petitioners have standing to seek a refund of their own taxes; and (2) whether the Equal Protection Clause precludes a state or municipality from creating tax exemptions that are available only to members of a certain race.

Certiorari stage documents:

Supreme Court Order List from Long Conference: No Oneida or Navajo Grants

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is today’s order list. Next week, the Court will issue the order list of denials.

Presumably, that means United States v. New York, Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County, EEOC v. Peabody Western Coal Co., Navajo Nation v. EEOC, and Peabody Western Coal Co. v. EEOC have all been denied, although that won’t be confirmed until later.

Cert Opposition Brief in Gila River Indian Community v. Lyon

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Lyon Cert Opposition Brief

The cert petition is here. The Indian Land Working Group Amicus brief is here.

Supreme Court 2011 Term: A Preview of the Indian Law Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

The “long conference” is next Monday, and so the 2011 Term is under way. Here are the cases that are on the radar, with an emphasis on the petitions on the agenda for Monday.

Petitions Slated for the Long Conference:

Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County (No. 10-1420) and United States v. New York (10-1404), involving the Oneida land claims and Sherrill, is already a petition to watch. The fact that the federal government filed a petition is huge, but the Court has denied similar petitions….

Navajo Nation v. EEOC (No. 10-981) and Peabody Western Coal Co. v. EEOC (No. 10-986), along with EEOC v. Peabody Western Coal Co. (No. 10-1080), a conditional cross-petition. This case involves the long-running Navajo tribal employment preference act. Although labeled a petition to watch, the feds are opposing the main petitions, and this one will be denied. A Rule 19 case.

Petitions Slated for Later Conferences:

Arctic Slope Native Assn. v. Sebelius (No. 11-33). This petition involving contract support costs under the Indian Self-Determination Act has a strong chance, with a circuit split between the Federal Circuit (here) and the Tenth Circuit (here and perhaps here).

Salazar v. Patchak (No. 11-247) and Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak (No. 11-246). This one has already been slated a “petition to watch.” The federal government’s effort to protect federal immunity under the Quiet Title Act is almost certain to be granted.

Gila River Indian Community v. Lyon (No. 11-80). Like the EEOC case, a Rule 19 case. One of these days, the SCT will hear a Rule 19 case where an Indian tribe is the missing indispensable party.

Seneca Telephone v. Miami Tribe (No. 11-183). Any case with tribal sovereign immunity as the backdrop has a chance, but this one has no split and no real major issue.

Reed v. Gutierrez (No. 10-1390). Another immunity case, even less likely to be granted than Seneca Telephone, given that Kiowa completely controls this one without doubt.

Corboy v. Louie (No. 11-336). Any petition involving the Native Hawaiians is bound to attract some Justices’ attention, but this one is being brought by tax protesters, not a favored party in the Supreme Court.

Evans v. Wapato Heritage (No. 11-215).

Miami Tribe Cert Opposition Brief

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Miami Tribe cert opp

Corboy v. Louie Cert Petition re: Hawaiian Natives

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Here:

Corboy Cert Petition

Here is the question presented:

Whether the Hawaii courts erred in failing to recognize that petitioners have standing to seek a refund of their own taxes and that the Equal Protection Clause precludes a State or municipality from creating tax exemptions that are available only to members of a certain race.
The lower court materials are here.

Final Cert Stage Brief (I Think) in Peabody Western/Navajo Nation/EEOC Cert Petitions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

EEOC Conditional Reply