Here:
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS- Hearings Officer 2015-02-19 for publication
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Oregon COA Affirms Governor’s Authority to Enter into Indian Gaming Compacts
Here are the materials in Dewberry v. Kitzhaber (Or. App.):
Respondents Joint Answer Brief
An excerpt:
In summary, the Oregon legislature authorized the Governor to enter into agreements with tribes to ensure that the state does not infringe on tribal rights under federal laws, such as IGRA. The trial court correctly concluded that the Governor acted lawfully under ORS 190.110 in negotiating and entering into the tribal-state compact with the Tribes.
Mashantucket Pequot Second Circuit En Banc Petition (and Amicus Support)
Here are the new materials in Mashantucket Pequot Tribe v. Town of Ledyard (2d Cir.):
Amicus Brief in Support of En Banc Petition — Seminole, Umatilla, and Coquille
Panel decision and briefs are here.
PBS Frontline: Where Tribal Justice Works
Here.
An excerpt:
In 2011, a man in northeastern Oregon beat his girlfriend with a gun, using it like a club to strike her in front of their children.
Both were members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The federal government, which has jurisdiction over major crimes in Indian Country, declined to prosecute.
So the tribes stepped in. The man was convicted in their courts and sentenced to 790 days in federal prison.
But had the assault happened a week earlier, the case could never have gone to trial.
The Umatilla tribes had recently enacted new provisions from a federal law, the Tribal Law and Order Act, that allowed Native American courts to try their own people for felony crimes instead of relying on the federal authorities.
Without those provisions, once federal prosecutors declined the case, the woman would have had no other legal recourse.
Brent Leonhard, the general counsel for the Umatilla tribes, is proud of the conviction: “I personally was concerned that the victim at some point would end up dead,” he said.
“People here were pretty happy to see the person held accountable.”
News Profile of VAWA Reauthorization with Comments from Umatilla
Bigfoot Evidence at Umatilla Reservation
I thought he lived at Hoopa….
Here.
Umatilla Tribal Court Hands Down 27 Month Sentence under TLOA’s Enhanced Sentencing Rules
Here.
From Brent Leonhard:
Just to clarify a few things about the story:
The info isn’t entirely accurate, but it isn’t too far off. If the BOP doesn’t pick up the tab, the Tribe will have to pay for incarceration and we contract with Umatilla county – not federal prison. Also, I’m fairly sure we are the first to implement felony sentencing (we did it in March of 2011). Finally, this was the third person sentenced to more than a year for a felony offense, but the first to have jail time imposed of over a year for a single offense. (The other two had 3 years imposed but all but 6 months was suspended in one and all but 3 months suspended in the other – with 3 years of probation and the suspended time hanging over their heads).
The big issue is whether the BOP Pilot Project will accept our referral on the 27 month imposed jail sentence so the feds will eat the cost and house him in their system. I’m waiting to hear back on that.
Umatilla Confederated Tribes Prosecutor Job Posting
Here in PDF: RFP for Prosecutor Services July 2012
Oregonian: “Oregon legislative efforts to undermine more protective water quality standards, tribes’ treaty-secured rights”
Here is the article (hat tip to Catherine O’Neill).
An excerpt:
Legislative bills seek to minimize the economic hit of the new rule, help ensure that paper mills, factories and sewage treatment plants can get variances and cement the Department of Environmental Quality’s second-fiddle role on ranches and farms.
The Legislature’s moves signal that DEQ’s nation-leading standards, in the works since 2004, could end up not doing much.
The new standards, set for Environmental Quality Commission approval in two weeks, would dramatically tighten pollution limits for a host of pollutants, including metals, flame retardants, PCBs, dioxins and plastic additives.
They come amid mounting evidence of toxic pollution in the state’s rivers and nearly two decades after studies showed tribal members along the Columbia River eat far more fish than the general population.
Bills “at the 11th hour” could undercut the standards, said Carl Merkle, environmental planning manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
“We want to see fair implementation (of the new rule) and we know that will occur over a long period of time,” Merkle said. “But we also want to see it effectively implemented, so it’s not just a paper exercise.”
Industry and cities say the uniquely tight standards — in some cases below natural levels in river water — would be impossible to meet without millions of dollars worth of treatment. The rule could discourage new industries from moving in and boost sewer rates, they say.
Umatilla Confederated Tribes First Tribes to Implement SORNA
Here is the tribal press release — SORNA first tribe in nation
And the Dept. of Justice press release.
From the tribal press release:
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation learned this week from the US Department of Justice that it is the first tribe in the nation to comply with, and implement, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) passed by Congress in 2006. The CTUIR and the state of Ohio are the first two jurisdictions in the country to comply with SORNA (commonly known as the Adam Walsh Act), according to information released this week by the US Department of Justice.
Turtle Talk 