First Circuit – Turtle Talk

First Circuit Reverses Some Bribery Convictions of Former Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Leader

September 30, 2024ilpc

Here are the materials in United States v. Dequattro:

Littlefield v. DOI Cert Petition

February 13, 2024February 13, 2024Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Littlefield Cert Petition.pdf Download

Questions presented:

Whether the decision of the court of appeals conflicts with Carcieri?

Lower court materials here.

First Circuit Affirms Interior Decision to Acquire Trust Land for Mashpee Wampanoag

November 1, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Littlefield v. Dept. of the Interior.

Briefs and other materials here,

First Circuit Materials in Littlefield v. Dept. of the Interior

October 12, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs:

Littlefield Brief

Mashpee Tribe

Federal Brief

Oral argument audio here.

SCOTUS Grants LDF v. Coughlin

January 13, 2023Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order.

Cert stage briefs here.

Lac Du Flambeau Ojibwe Cert Petition in Bankruptcy Act/Sovereign Immunity Case

September 15, 2022November 14, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin:

ldf-cert-petition Download

Question presented:

Whether the Bankruptcy Code expresses unequivocally Congress’s intent to abrogate the sovereign immunity of Indian tribes.

Lower court materials here.

Update:

Law Profs Amicus Brief.pdf Download

Org Amicus Brief.pdf Download

Coughlin BIO.pdf Download

First Circuit Holds Bankruptcy Act Impliedly Abrogates Tribal Immunity

May 6, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in In re Coughlin:

In re Coughlin.pdf Download

Briefs here.

Penobscot Nation + US Cert Petitions against Maine in Penobscot River Dispute

December 10, 2021January 7, 2022Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the petition in Penobscot Nation v. Frey:

cert petition and appendix – penobscot nation v. frey.pdf Download

Here is the petition in United States v. Frey:

cert petition – united states v frey.pdf Download

pet app – united states v frey.pdf Download

Question presented (from the Penobscot petition):

Whether the Maine Indian Settlement Acts— consistent with this Court’s precedents on statutory interpretation and the Indian canons of construction— codify the historical understanding of the Penobscot Nation, the United States, and the State that the Penobscot Reservation encompasses the Main Stem of the Penobscot River.

Lower court materials here.

Update:

NCAI Amicus Brief

Members of Congress Amicus Brief

Maine State-Tribal Commission Amicus Brief