Eighth Circuit

Minnesota COA Affirms Enforcement of Tribal Court Judgment in White Earth Fraud Case

December 4, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion in United States ex rel. Auginaush v. Medure:

An excerpt:

The tribal court adopted the arbitration transcript as the official record of its proceeding. This transcript included testimony from Medure. In August 2009 the tribal court ruled that the 1992 contract was null and void. In November 2010 the tribal court issued an order and judgment in favor of the band awarding all amounts paid under the contract, amounting to more than $18.5 million with interest accruing at the daily rate of $1,669.12.

We posted about this case in 2009.

Eighth Circuit Rejects 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Defense to Federal Drug Prosecution

October 31, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in United States v. LeBeau:

US v Lebeau CA8 Opinion (unpublished)

LeBeau Opening Brief

US Appellee Brief

Opening Eighth Circuit Brief in Montana 1 Case out of Turtle Mountain Tribal Court (UPDATED with Answer and Reply Briefs)

October 8, 2012November 26, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the brief in DISH Network Service LLC v. Laducer:

DISH Network Opening Brief

And the answer brief:

Tribal Court Brief

And the reply brief:

DISH Network Reply Brief

Lower court materials here and here.

Eighth Circuit Remands Major Crimes Act Case for Determination on Whether Red Lake Reservation Diminished

October 2, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the materials in United States v. Jackson:

Eighth and Ninth Circuits Affirm Indian Country D.V. Sentences

June 29, 2012June 28, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is Wednesday’s opinion in United States v. White Twin (CA8):

Opinion

And here is Wednesday’s opinion in United States v. Two Moons (CA9):

Opinion

Eighth Circuit Rejects Effort to Move Trust Breach Claims to Court of Federal Claims

April 6, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s opinion (the third Indian law opinion from the CA8 this week!) in Bernard v. Dept. of Interior:

CA8 Opinion in Bernard v DOI

The briefs:

Bernard Opening Brief

Interior Appellee Brief

Bernard Reply

Excerpts:

Maynard Bernard decided to develop some of the Indian trust land he owned on the Sisseton Wahpeton Reservation in a project planned with his cousin Grady Renville. Bernard and Renville consulted a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) realty officer about how to proceed. She advised Bernard to sign a gift deed to convey the entire property to himself and Renville asjoint tenants with the right of survivorship. The agency subsequently denied a request by Bernard and his wife Florine to set aside the deed. After an unsuccessful administrative appeal the Bernards brought an action in federal district court against the United States Department of the Interior (the Department) seeking review of the agency decision and money damages for breach of trust. The Bernards later amended their complaint to eliminate the damage
claim and subsequently settled with Renville, who agreed to deed back some of the land. After the district court affirmed the administrative decision and dismissed the Bernards’ action, they moved to alter the judgment, seeking transfer of their damage claim to the Court of Federal Claims (CFC). The district court denied the motion, and the Bernards appeal. We affirm.

And:

We recognize that the facts of this case are troubling. Apparently on her own initiative, the BIA realty officer advised Bernard to sign a gift deed conveying half of his interest in his entire property to Renville in a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. In addition she told Bernard that this would be only a “temporary” arrangement based on Renville’s alleged oral assurances, and she permitted Bernard to waive appraisal of his land before the transfer. She also allowed Renville to fill out the gift deed application, apparently because Bernard’s eyesight was so bad he could not do it himself.

Eighth Circuit Affirms BIA Decision to Take Yankton Travel Plaza into Trust

April 6, 2012April 6, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s opinion:

CA8 Opinion

Briefs are here. Lower court materials are here.

Eighth Circuit Affirms Convictions of Fake Indians for Abuse of Process and Obstructing Justice

February 10, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Here is the opinion in United States v. Reed:

US v Reed CA8 Opinion

An excerpt:

Gregory Allen Davis and Michael Howard Reed irrationally believe that their membership in the Little Shell Nation, an unrecognized Indian tribe, means they are not United States citizens subject to the jurisdiction of the federal courts. This belief led them into serious trouble. First, Reed threatened North Dakota District Judge Ralph Erickson because he refused to dismiss federal drug charges against two other Little Shell members. Months later, when District Judge Daniel Hovland denied a motion to dismiss a firearm charge pending against Reed, Davis filed a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) financing statement listing Judge Hovland and acting United States Attorney Lynn Jordheim as $3.4 million debtors and Davis as the secured party. After a three-day trial, a jury convicted Davis and Reed of conspiring to file and filing false liens against Judge Hovland and Jordheim in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1521. The jury also convicted Reed of corruptly obstructing justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503(a), based on his earlier threats. On appeal, Davis argues that the evidence was insufficient to prove a violation of § 1521. Both Davis and Reed argue, for somewhat different reasons, that the district court violated their constitutional rights by allowing them to represent themselves at trial. We affirm.

Eighth Circuit Rejects South Dakota’s Challenge to Sisseton Trust Acquisition on Standing Grounds

January 11, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the CA8 website:

111745P.pdf 01/11/2012 State of South Dakota v. U.S. Department of Interior U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 11-1745 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota – Pierre [PUBLISHED] [Riley, Author, with Wollman and Beam, Circuit Judges]
Civil case – Indian law. In an action by the State of South Dakota seeking to prevent the Secretary of the Interior from completing land-into- trust acquisitions, the State lacked standing to bring a constitutional due process claim, and the appeal is dismissed.

Here are the briefs.

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