Here:
Suffolk Indian Law Clinic Amicus Brief
Prior materials here.
First Circuit
Opening Brief in KG Urban v. Patrick (Mass. State Gaming Case)
Here:
KG Urban Motion to Expedite CA1 Appeal
Mass Response to Motion to Expedite
Lower court materials are here and here and here.
News coverage here, h/t Pechanga.
First Circuit Affirms Embezzlement Convictions of Former Passamaquoddy Tribe Leaders
Here is the opinion in United States v. Newell.
Here is an excerpt:
This case stems from extensive financial mismanagement at the Passamaquoddy Tribe Indian Township Reservation (the “Tribe”) in Down East Maine. Defendants Robert Newell, the former governor of the Tribe, and James Parisi, Jr., the Tribe’s former finance director, were convicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371, as well as violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 287, 666 and 669, involving the misuse of federal grant and tribal monies. On appeal, Newell and Parisi raise a host of issues related to the federal court’s jurisdiction over “internal tribal matters,” the sufficiency of the evidence, the lower court’s jury instructions, sentencing, and the restitution order entered against them. For the reasons explained below, we vacate Parisi’s conviction on count five and remand for clarification of certain issues related to the restitution order, but otherwise affirm.
First Circuit Dismisses Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Member Land Claims
Here is the opinion in Bingham v. Massachusetts (with former Justice Souter on the panel).
Lower court materials here.
First Circuit Affirms New Trial for R.I. Trooper that Broke Ankle of Narragansett Employee in Smoke Shop Raid
Vodpod videos no longer available.
The court affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant a motion for a new trial — Jennings v Jones.
Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtahkomikumon v. BIA Dismissed
From Indianz:
The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that challenged federal approval of a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Passamaquoddy Reservation in Maine.
Tribal leaders at Pleasant Point signed a contract with Quoddy Bay LNG to host the project. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the lease but a group of tribal members filed a lawsuit, raising environmental concerns.
A federal judge dismissed the case, saying the tribal members lacked standing. The 1st Circuit, in September 2007, revived the lawsuit and ordered another look.
Since then, the tribe cut ties with Quoddy Bay and the LNG terminal has faced delays with licensing the project. Meanwhile, the BIA said its approval of the lease never became “effective.”
The judge dismissed the case again and said the tribal members failed to exhaust their administrative appeals within the BIA. The 1st Circuit agreed but also noted the shift in the BIA’s position.
1st Circuit Decision:
Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtahkomikumon v. BIA (October 28, 2009)
First Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict Against Narragansett Members over Smokeshop Injuries
The First Circuit affirmed the jury verdict, and the trial judge’s instructions to it, against the seven members of the Narragansett who were injured by Rhode Island police officers during the notorious smokeshop raid several years ago.
Chief Justice Roberts & Federal Indian Law
Long before John G. Roberts, C.J. became life-tenured, he practiced. And he worked on at least three Indian law-related cases: Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie, Rice v. Cayetano, and (briefly) Roberts v. United States. Also, as part of President Reagan’s Office of Legal Counsel, he vetted several Acts of Congress related to Indian tribes.
Roberts won Venetie, representing the State of Alaska. He lost Rice, representing the State of Hawaii. And the Court denied his petition for cert on behalf of Hollis Roberts (no relation, one presumes) in Roberts v. U.S.
The now semi-notorious brief Roberts filed in Alaska v. Venetie is here: Venetie Petr Brief. It is notorious for the reversal of the “deadliest enemies” language in United States v. Kagama. The Kagama Court wrote that states and state citizens were the deadliest enemies of Indians and Indian tribes, but the Venetie brief (for no real good reason) altered the quote to mean that Indians and Indian tribes were the deadliest enemies of states and state citizens. Here’s my own paper on the archaic notion that states and tribes are “deadliest enemies.”
Hawaii’s brief in Rice v. Cayetano is here: Rice Resp Brief
Roberts’ cert petition in Roberts v. US is here: Roberts v. United States Cert Petn. This one is especially important since Roberts (and Roberts) brought a challenge to Section 465, the fee to trust statute. There is ongoing litigation involving Section 465 that may soon be appealed to the Supreme Court. To some extent, the legal challenge to Section 465 has morphed since the 1999 cert petition, but it is significant that Roberts, C.J. is aware of this kind of case.
Finally, we include the documents Roberts wrote as a member of the OLC. These came out during his Senate confirmation process.
Tribal Tax Status Act OLC Memo
I guess what these memos demonstrate is that young Roberts was a serious conservative and a funny guy (unless you were the subject of the humor).
Turtle Talk 