Here is the article “With Courts Far From Reservations, Justice Can Be Hard To Find, Too.”
federal courts
Federal Judicial Vacancies in Indian Country
The Obama Administration will soon be acting to nominate federal judges at the trial and appellate levels. The first list includes the vacancies in Indian Country (loosely defined :)). The second list (below the fold) includes the Federal Judicial Conference’s recommendations for increased federal judgeships.
Sixth Circuit (1)
Ninth Circuit (2)
D.C. Circuit (not Indian Country, but gets a lot of Indian law cases) (2)
California — Northern District (2)
California — Eastern District (1)
California — Central District (3)
Colorado (2)
District of Columbia (3)
Florida — Southern District (1)
New York — Northern District (1)
New York — Western District (1)
South Dakota (1)
Wisconsin — Western District (1)
Wyoming (1)
Student Author on Tribal Courts
R. Stephen McNeil, a law student at Washington & Lee, has posted “In a Class by Themselves: a Proposal to Incorporate Tribal Courts into the Federal Court System Without Compromising Their Unique Status as “Domestic Dependent Nations” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This Note proposes a solution to the longstanding problem of how to fit tribal courts into the existing federal court system. After setting forth the well-established problems with the current system, the Note discusses the various practical and constitutional problems with classifying Indian tribes as states, foreign nations, administrative agencies, or federal territories. Ultimately, the Note proposes a statutory scheme that is tailored to the unique situation of the Indian tribes by focusing on the competing goals of protecting tribal culture, maximizing tribal sovereignty, and protecting the rights of non-Indians from abuses in tribal courts.
Aside from the hanging modifier in the title, looks like a decent paper. I’m glad to see students from schools that aren’t known for teaching Indian law taking a stab at this field.
Rumsey Band v. Dickstein — Remand to State Court
The federal district court granted the Rumsey Band’s motion to remand the claim back to state court after Howard Dickstein at al. removed the case to federal court. The ultimate claim against Dickstein et al. is that former attorneys and financial advisors engaged in self-dealing in regards to business deals involving the tribal gaming operation. This intermediate order remanding the case involved questions regarding whether Congress preempted the field with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Turtle Talk 