Here is the district court’s order on a motion to suppress statements made by a Ute Indian during a murder investigation.
District of Utah
Mixed-Blood Utes Water Rights Found Terminated
In Ute Distribution Corp. v. Secretary of Interior, the federal district court in Utah affirmed the Secretary’s decision that the water rights of the mixed-blood (terminated) Utes could be and had been distributed. From the opinion:
For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that the tribal reserved water rights of the Ute Indian Tribe were both an asset susceptible to equitable and practicable distribution in 1961 and were in fact divided. Although the Court finds that the Secretary’s recent decisions are within the statutory authority provided under the UPA and is thus entitled to deference, under either standard of review, whether it be de novo or arbitrary and capricious, the conclusion is the same. The Secretary’s decision is AFFIRMED.
Slip op. at
federal-tribal-motion-to-dismiss
Rule 11 Candidate for the Day – MacArthur v. San Juan County
In the long-running MacArthur v. San Juan County case, the plaintiffs have filed a motion to reconsider in the district court. That’s not the candidate for a Rule 11 sanction. The response to that motion is. It’s captioned “San Juan County Defendants’ Memorandum Opposing Plaintiffs’ Latest But Not Last Motion to Reconsider.” (emphasis added). But that’s not all. The argument portion of the “brief” includes nothing but a quotation from the King James’ Version of the Bible. Huh?!?!
macarthur-v-san-juan-county-defendants-brief
It reminds me of something a very angry person would email in the middle of the night before they’ve had a chance to collect their thoughts and rethink their position with a calmer mind.
Pelt v. Utah – Navajo Trust Fund Accounting
Here is a short description of the questions arising in this matter from the opinion:
Beneficiaries of the Navajo Trust Fund (“NTF” or “Trust Fund”) filed this class action against the NTF trustee, Defendant State of Utah, seeking relief for alleged mismanagement of Trust Fund monies. They seek, among other things, an equitable accounting of Trust Fund income and expenditures. The equitable accounting must be completed before the court moves to the liability phase of the case.
This matter comes before the court on cross-motions for partial summary judgment regarding the scope and nature of Utah’s duty to account for and invest Trust Fund income. Although the parties raise many issues, the court finds that only the following two questions need to be decided at this stage of the litigation. First, what is the scope of Utah’s obligation to account for the oil and gas royalties that are the source of NTF funds? Second, what is the scope of Utah’s duty to account for investment income?
Here are the materials:
United States v. Benally Materials
As reported by Indianz, a Navajo man will get a new criminal trial in federal court because of improper statements made by jurors about American Indians. Here are the materials:
Turtle Talk 