In Fowler v. Crawford, the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a claim that a prison’s denial of access to a sweat lodge to a Cherokee descendant violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Here are the materials:
Eighth Circuit
Yankton Sioux v. US HHS — CA8 Decision
Here is the opinion, which was reported in Indianz yesterday.
Here are the briefs:
Nord v. Kelly — Tribal Court Jurisdiction over Tort Claim Arising on State Highway
Here, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the DCT opinion rejecting the jurisdiction of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians tribal court over a tort claim arising out of an auto wreck on a state highway within the reservation. Judge Murphy concurred in a separate opinion, noting the distinction between the Red Lake Reservation, which has never been ceded, and the reservation of the Mandad, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, where the Strate case arose.
Here are the materials:
Hinsley v. Standing Rock C.P.S. (CA8) — Federal Tort Claims Act
Apparently, persons covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act retain immunity from suit by exercising their “discretion” to place children with alleged child molesters without warning the parents. Hinsely v. Standing Rock Child Protective Services (CA8)
Here are the briefs:
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. Materials — Additional Update
Here is the entire set of Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co. materials, with the addition of two tribal court lower court orders:
ETA: Final SCOTUS decision has been added to this post as well.
Commentary on the Plains Commerce Bank Cert Grant
The Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari in Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. surprised me a great deal. It proves, I think, that Indian law scholars and practitioners cannot claim to predict how the Supreme Court is going to act (no big surprise there, given how few Indians or Indian lawyers have clerked for the Court), but I also think it shows that the so-called Supreme Court bar can miss one every now and then [SCOTUSBlog’s Petitions to Watch seemed to miss this one].
SCt Grants Cert in Plains Commerce Bank
The Supreme Court agreed to hear Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co. (No. 07-411). Here and here are our previous posts on this case that include the briefs and other materials. Here is the Court’s order. Opening briefs are due Feb. 14, response briefs due on March 12.
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. Materials — Update
Plains Commerce Bank’s cert petn reply brief is here: Reply Brief
All other materials are at our previous post.
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. Materials
Plains Commerce Bank recently filed a cert petition in this matter, which involves a tribal court judgment against Plains Commerce. The bank argues the tribal court didn’t have jurisdiction over it, despite waiving that argument before the tribal court.
Here are the materials:
Challenge to Federal Criminalization of Hemp – D. N.D.
A federal district court in North Dakota granted the government’s motion to dismiss a claim that the United States ban on industrial hemp is unconstitutional. Here is the opinion: Monson v. DEA Opinion
The opinion relied in part on the Eighth Circuit’s decision, United States v. White Plume, involving Indians arguing that the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie protected their right to farm industrial hemp for commercial purposes.
Turtle Talk 