Here is the opinion in United States v. Reed: CA8 Opinion in US v Reed
Reed is the self-proclaimed attorney general for the Little Shell Nation, anIndian tribe not recognized by the federal government. Reed is not Native American,similar to many members of the unrecognized tribe, who join the organization via theInternet. Reed was “adopted” by the Little Shell Nation in 2006, when he moved toNorth Dakota. The Little Shell Nation maintains its office and headquarters inRolette, North Dakota.
Here is the unpublished opinion in United States v. Jones, for a crime committed on the Red Lake Reservation:
And the briefs:
An excerpt:
Here, the district court did not procedurally err in considering Jones’s tribal convictions. The Guidelines specifically permit a district court to consider tribal court convictions for the purpose of determining the adequacy of a defendant’s criminal history, see U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a)(2)(A), and this court has consistently approved tribal convictions as a permissible basis for departing upward from the advisory Guidelines range. See, e.g.,United States v. Cook, 615 F.3d 891, 893 (8th Cir.2010);United States v. Harlan, 368 F.3d 870, 874-75 (8th Cir.2004).
We’ve received several comments about the case worth reposting here.
From an Amerind rep:
Amerind’s policies require Amerind to pay all judgments rendered against its policyholders. For over 25 years, Amerind has consistently honored this commitment.
The United States Housing and Urban Development has also approved and recognized Amerind as the only authorized insurance entity for Indian country.
The Eighth Circuit’s decision applies in a very narrow set of circumstances—where suit is brought directly against Amerind rather than the policyholder.
From Richard Monette:
It seems that to the extent Amerind is in fact “self-insuring” it is indeed acting more as a government than a business and that such activity may be cloaked in the the charter Tribes’ immunity. However, it also seems that to the extent that Amerind is not self-insuring, it is indeed acting more as a business than a government and may not carry the charter Tribes’ immunity beyond the governing territories of those Tribes. Is a company not chartered by Turtle Mountain but doing business in Turtle Mountain really “self-insuring”? Note to Turtle Mountaineers: if you wish for these types of catastrophes to be covered by insurance, your tribe/housing authority must establish its own section 477 self-insurance entity, as each tribe should, the likely original intent of the law.
And from Richard Phelps (previously and erroneously noted as Richard Monette):
I am a firm believer in sovereign immonity but cases like this that push the limits, put that immunity in grave danger.
Also why would you purchase insurance from a company that can not be sued if it refuses to pay a claim. I guess State farm would like this deal.
And a link to a commentary by Gabe Galanda on his blog. His post is titled, “Amerind Should Clearly Waive Its Immunity in Insurance Contracts.”
Very important decision. Our prior commentary on this case is here.
Here are the materials:
Amerind v. Malaterre CA8 Opinion
Here are the materials in United States v. Whitetail:
From the Bemidji Pioneer:
An $18,562,767.45 money judgment was recently awarded to the White Earth Band of Chippewa against Angelo Medure and Gaming World International, Ltd. (GWI).
The award culminates a 14-year struggle of the people of White Earth to recover illegal profit distributions made to Medure and Gaming World International. The legal action began in White Earth Tribal Court and then removed by GWI and Medure to Federal Court and then remanded back to Tribal Court by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Medure was found to have conspired with former White Earth Chairman Darrell “Chip” Wadena to deprive the people of White Earth the benefits of the White Earth Land Settlement Act (WELSA). Although agreement provisions between GWI and Wadena required that Medure provide management services for the construction, development and operation of the Shooting Star Casino, GWI had no employees at the Shooting Star Casino at any time. In spite of having no employees at Shooting Star Casino, GWI and Medure were paid $10,153,772.61 in profit distributions. The management agreement required GWI to pay back the White Earth Land Settlement Act (WELSA) funds before any profit distributions were made to GWI.
Here are the materials in United States v. White Mountain (unpublished opinion here):
The Eighth Circuit’s 7-4 en banc decision in Cottier v. City of Martin, S.D. will stand. Order list here.
Here is the opinion in United States v. Voice.
An excerpt:
In addition to the due process contention previously discussed, Voice’s motion to dismiss the indictment argued that SORNA (1) does not apply to him because the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe has not implemented it, and (2) is unconstitutional as applied to him because it violates the Ex Post Facto Clause, the non-delegation doctrine, and exceeds Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce. On appeal, Voice acknowledges that we have recently decided these issues against him but argues the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss on these grounds to preserve them for possible Supreme Court review. We agree these arguments are foreclosed by prior panel decisions.
Here is the opinion in United States v. Cook.
The court notes on page 3 that the seven prior tribal court convictions “alone” were enough to justify the upward departure from the sentencing guidelines. Not sure how many, if any, of the tribal court convictions were counseled.
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