Tenth Circuit Decides Comanche Nation v. Zinke [Chickasaw Trust Land Acquisition]

Here is the unpublished order.

Briefs here.

Lower court materials here.

Opposition Briefs in Stand Up For California v. Dept. of Interior

Here:

North Fork Rancheria Opposition Brief

US Opposition Brief

UPDATE 12/12/18): Reply

Cert petition here.

US Prevails in Challenge to Santa Ynez Band Trust Land Acquisition

Here are the materials in Geyser v. United States (C.D. Cal.):

27-1 Plaintiffs Motion for Summary J

28-1 US Motion for Summary J

29 Plaintiffs Reply

30 US Reply

32 DCT Order

Prior post here.

Stand Up For California v. Dept. of Interior Cert Petition

Here:

sufc cert petition

Questions presented:

1. This case presents the question whether the Secretary may conclude that a casino “would not be detrimental to the surrounding community” despite uncontroverted evidence the casino will have unmitigated detrimental impacts to the community.

2. This case presents the question whether multiple Indians residing on the same reservation are, per se, an “Indian tribe” irrespective of the individual Indianstribal affiliations, if any.

Lower court materials here.

 

Cert Petition Filed over Ione Band of Miwok Indians Trust Land Acquisition

Here is the petition in County of Amador v. Dept. of the Interior:

Cert Petition

UPDATE: Cert Opp

Questions presented:

1. Whether Congress intended the phrase “under Federal jurisdiction,” as used in the 1934 Act, to encompass a tribe that, as of June 18, 1934, had no land held on its behalf by the federal government, either in trust or as allotments; was not a party to any treaty with the United States; did not receive services or benefits from the federal government; did not have members enrolled with the Indian Office; and which was not invited to organize under the IRA in 1934 by the Secretary like other recognized tribes in Amador County; but for whom the federal government had unsuccessfully attempted to purchase land pursuant to a generic appropriation authorizing the purchase of land for unspecified “landless Indians” in California?
2. Whether the Secretary’s authority to take land into trust for “members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction” requires that the tribe have been “recognized” in 1934, in addition to being “under Federaljurisdiction” at that time, or whether such “recognition” can come decades after the statute’s enactment?
3. Whether the Secretary, having explicitly concluded that in enacting the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Congress intended that Indian tribes “restored to Federal recognition” refers only to tribes that are “restored” pursuant to (a) congressional legislation, (b) a judgment or settlement agreement in a federal court case to which the United States is a party, or (c) “through the administrative Federal Acknowledgment Process under [25 C.F.R. § 83.8],” and having embodied that conclusion in a formal regulation, 25 C.F.R. § 292.10, can then act contrary to Congress’s intention by “grandfathering in” a preliminary (i.e., non-final) agency action treating Indians who do not meet the regulatory definition as “restored”?
Lower court materials here.

Federal Court Rejects Challenge to Wilton Rancheria Trust Acquisition Made by Acting Interior Official

Here are the materials in Stand Up for California! v. Dept. of Interior (D.D.C.):

33 Stand Up Motion for Summary J

40 Interior Cross Motion

41 Wilton Rancheria Cross Motion

45 Stand Up Reply

49 Wilton Reply

50 Interior Reply

53 DCT Order

Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Suit in Patchak v. Zinke

Opinion here.

THOMAS, J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which BREYER, ALITO, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. BREYER, J., filed a concurring opinion. GINSBURG, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which SOTOMAYOR, J., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed an
opinion concurring in the judgment. ROBERTS, C. J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which KENNEDY and GORSUCH, JJ., joined.

***

Petitioner, David Patchak, sued the Secretary of the
Interior for taking land into trust on behalf of an Indian
Tribe. While his suit was pending in the District Court,
Congress enacted the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation
Act (Gun Lake Act or Act), Pub. L. 113–179, 128 Stat.
1913, which provides that suits relating to the land “shall
not be filed or maintained in a Federal court and shall be
promptly dismissed.” Patchak contends that, in enacting
this statute, Congress impermissibly infringed the judicial
power that Article III of the Constitution vests exclusively
in the Judicial Branch. Because we disagree, we affirm
the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit.

Previous posts here.

D.C. Circuit Affirms Interior Trust Acquisition for North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians

Here is the opinion in Stand Up for California! v. Dept. of Interior:

Stand Up Opinion

Briefs here.

Tenth Circuit Briefs in Cherokee Nation v. Zinke (UKB Trust Acquisition)

Here they are (so far);

Federal Brief

Lower court materials in Cherokee Nation v. Jewell here.

D.C. Circuit Affirms Amador County Cannot Challenge IGRA ‘Reservation’ Status of Buena Vista Rancheria

Here is the unpublished opinion in Amador County v. Dept. of Interior:

CADC Unpublished Opinion

Here are the briefs.