District of North Dakota – Page 8

The Spirit Lake Tribe of Indians, by its Committee of Understanding and Respect, and Archie Fool Bear, individually and as representative of more than 1,004
members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – collectively, “the Committee” – sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for interfering with the University of North Dakota’s use of the Fighting Sioux name, logo, and imagery. The NCAA moved to dismiss. The district court1 treated the motion as one for summary judgment and granted it. The Committee appeals. This court affirms.

Previous coverage here.

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Fighting Sioux Appeal

January 24, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the briefs in Spirit Lake Tribe of Sioux Indians ex rel. Committee of Understanding and Respect v. NCAA:

CUR Appellant Brief

NCAA Appellee Brief

CUR Reply

Oral argument is Feb. 14.

Lower court materials and commentary here. And, yes, I stand by my comments in that post. If the CA8 doesn’t affirm in an unpublished memorandum or simply without comment, I would be surprised.

Federal Court Complaint Filed Alleging Turtle Mountain Tribal Court “Bad Faith”

January 18, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in Knight v. Vondal (D. N.D.):

Knight v Vondal Complaint

Tribal Court TRO

Federal Court Declines to Order Convicted Indian Drug Dealer to Repay Feds’ “Buy Money”

December 19, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in United States v. Lester (D. N.D.):

DCT Order Denying Restitution in Sentence

An excerpt:

Finally, the court could always impose a fine in the amount of the “buy money.” In fact, 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) has its own special provisions for fines, which, among other things, provide that, upon conviction “a person who violates this subsection shall be fined the reasonable costs of the investigation and prosecution of the offense …, except that this sentence shall not apply and a fine under this section need not be imposed if the court determines under the provision of Title 18 that the defendant lacks the ability to pay.”