D.C. District Court.

Cert Petition Filed in Challenge to Wilton Rancheria Lands Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in Stand Up for California! v. Dept. of the Interior:

SUFC! Petition

Question presented:

Whether the Secretary can acquire land in trust on behalf of Indians whose federal supervision was terminated by Congress.

Lower court materials here.

Hawkins v. Haaland Cert Petition [tribal management of Klamath River]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Cert Petition

Question presented:

Does the federal government possess final decision-making authority over the management of water rights held in trust for an Indian tribe?

Lower court materials here.

Dakota Access LLC v. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Cert Petition [Updated with additional cert stage briefs]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Cert Petition

Questions presented:

  1. Whether, under NEPA, an agency that carefully considers all criticisms of its environmental analysis must also “resolve” those criticisms to the court’s satisfaction to justify a finding of no significant impact; and
  2. Whether procedural error under NEPA per se warrants remand with vacatur.

Lower court materials here.

Update:

Federal BIO

Tribal BIO

Reply

D.C. Circuit Reverses Indirect Costs Judgment that Favored Cook Inlet Tribal Council

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Cook Inlet Tribal Council v. Dotomain:

D.C. Circuit opinion

Federal Brief

Tribe Brief

Reply

Lower court materials here.

D.C. Circuit Rejects Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Intervention in Scotts Valley Band Pomo Indian Lands Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation v. Dept. of the Interior.

Briefs:

Yocha Dehe Brief

Federal Brief

Scotts Valley Brief

Reply

Lower court materials here.

SCOTUS Holds 6-3 that ANCs are “Indian Tribes” Eligible for CARES Act Funding

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

Materials here.

Update in Standing Rock/Dakota Access Pipeline

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the new materials in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers (D.D.C.):

569 Tribe Motion

573 Army Corps Opposition

586 Tribe Reply

607 DCT Order

Prior post here.

Post-Argument Letter Briefing in Yellen v. Chehalis

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

2021.04.23 Chehalis Letter to USSC Clerk of the Court

2021-4-22 ANCs response letter

Confederated Tribes Letter Re Oral Argument Correction 4 20 21 [Ute Tribe/Patterson firm]

US Letter 20-543 20-544

Background materials here.

D.C. Circuit Affirms Stand Up for California! v. Dept. of Interior [Wilton Rancheria]

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion.

An excerpt:

This appeal comes after a seven year effort by the Department of the Interior (“Department”) to acquire land in trust on behalf of the Wilton Rancheria (“Wilton” or “Tribe”) to build a casino. After the Department finalized the acquisition of a parcel of land in Elk Grove, California, Stand Up for California! (“Stand Up”), Patty Johnson, Joe Teixeira, and Lynn Wheat (collectively “Appellants”) sued the Department. They brought a litany of claims, including claims that the Department (1) impermissibly delegated the authority to make a final agency action to acquire the land to an official who could not wield this authority, (2) was barred from acquiring land in trust on behalf of Wilton’s members, and (3) failed to adhere to its National Environmental Protection Act obligations when it selected the Elk Grove location. Appellants and the Department cross moved for summary judgment, and the District Court granted the Department’s motions on all counts. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the District Court.

Briefs here.