Here is today’s opinion in Beaulieu v. Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Mr. Beaulieu previously challenged his confinement in federal court, materials here.
Minnesota Court of Appeals
Minnesota COA Affirms Enforcement of Tribal Court Judgment in White Earth Fraud Case
Here is the unpublished opinion in United States ex rel. Auginaush v. Medure:
An excerpt:
The tribal court adopted the arbitration transcript as the official record of its proceeding. This transcript included testimony from Medure. In August 2009 the tribal court ruled that the 1992 contract was null and void. In November 2010 the tribal court issued an order and judgment in favor of the band awarding all amounts paid under the contract, amounting to more than $18.5 million with interest accruing at the daily rate of $1,669.12.
We posted about this case in 2009.
Minnesota COA Decides PL 280 Case Involving DUI on White Earth Reservation
Here is the opinion in State v. St. Clair:
An excerpt:
In December 2011, a state trooper observed a vehicle traveling at 65 miles per hour in an area on the White Earth Indian Reservation where the speed limit was 55 miles per hour. The trooper initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver of the vehicle as appellant Linda Jane St. Clair. The trooper noticed that appellant’s driver’s license had an ignition-interlock restriction and asked her if an ignition-interlock device was installed in the vehicle she was driving. Appellant explained that the vehicle belonged to her husband and did not have an ignition-interlock device. The trooper cited appellant for violating her restricted license by driving a vehicle without an ignition-interlock device. See Minn.Stat. § 171.09, subd. 1(g). Appellant has six prior driving-while-impaired (DWI) convictions.
Appellant moved to dismiss the charge, arguing that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because she is an enrolled member of an Indian tribe and the offense occurred on her reservation. The district court denied the motion, determining that the state has subject-matter jurisdiction because a violation of Minn.Stat. § 171.09, subd. 1(g), is criminal/prohibitory.
The parties signed a stipulation in which appellant waived her trial rights and agreed that the district court could consider the law enforcement reports and her White Earth Reservation enrollment card. Based on the stipulated evidence, the district court determined that the state had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was guilty of violating Minn.Stat. § 171.09, subd. 1(g). This appeal follows.
Minn. COA Affirm DV Conviction in State v. Manypenny
Here is the unpublished opinion:
An excerpt:
Appellant Jeffrey Lee Manypenny challenges his domestic-assault and fifth-degree-assault convictions stemming from an assault against his girlfriend, J.K., in January 2011. Appellant first argues that the district court clearly erred when it denied his Batson challenge to the state’s peremptory strike of a Native American juror, contending that the state impermissibly excluded the juror based on his race.
***
Here, the prosecutor stated:
[T]he basis for my p[er]emptory challenge is I have information [that he] was convicted of domestic assault in 1996. He did not share that information with the [c]ourt when asked if they had been convicted of anything other than a minor traffic offense. He made no comment on that. He hesitated drastically how he felt about his contact with law enforcement . . . . He was very equivocal, and the basis for the p[er]emptory is definitely not having anything to do with race. As noted, we have a number of [N]ative [A]merican jurors on the panel.
The prosecutor gave two reasons for her peremptory strike: (1) failure to disclose a prior conviction of domestic assault; and (2) perceived bias against law enforcement. “Prior convictions and prior arrests are valid reasons for exercising peremptory challenges.” State v. James, 638 N.W.2d 205, 210 (Minn. App. 2002), review denied (Minn. Mar. 27, 2002). And “negative feelings toward government and law enforcement in particular” is a sufficient race-neutral reason for a peremptory strike. State v. DeVerney, 592 N.W.2d 837, 843 (Minn. 1999).
Minnesota COA Case Denying Equal Protection Challenge to Indian Fishing Rights
Here is the opinion in State v. Fellegy:
From the court’s syllabus:
The district court need not conduct an evidentiary hearing on a criminal defendant’s pretrial motion to dismiss based on the defendant’s claim under his right to equal protection that the charge arose from unconstitutional selective enforcement if the defendant has asserted facts that, even if proven, would not substantiate the claim. And a defendant’s allegation that a different prosecutor in a different charging jurisdiction decided not to charge two individuals of a different race for the same offense that the defendant was charged with is not sufficient to substantiate an unconstitutional selective prosecution claim.
Minnesota Cert Opposition Brief in Beaulieu v. Minnesota
Here:
Mn AG Brief Oppsng Kev B Pet4 Cert 3-14-12
You may recall the state waived its right to respond to the cert petition, but the SCT called for a response.
MN Court of Appeals Decides ICWA Case
On appeal from the denial of a petition to return custody, appellant argues that
(a) a challenge to a petition for return of custody under the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901␣1963 (2006), requires application of all subsections of section 1912 to determine whether reunification is not in the child’s best interests, (b) the district court erred in concluding that remedial services provided to appellant five years ago satisfied ICWA’s requirement to demonstrate active efforts to provide appellant remedial services, and (c) the district court erred in determining that no showing of harm to appellant’s child was required under ICWA because appellant did not retain continued custody after voluntarily terminating her parental rights. Because (1) section 1916(a) requires district courts to apply all subsections of section 1912 in determining whether reunification is not in a child’s best interests, (2) the district court erred in concluding that the active-efforts requirement under section 1912(d) was satisfied, and (3) the district court erred by making no findings under section 1912(f), we reverse and remand.
SCT Issues Call for Response to Minn. AG re: Beaulieu Cert Petition
Here is the CFR (US S Ct Clerk ltr2 Mn Atty Gen 2-13-2012).
This is interesting, and should place the case on the list of petitions to watch. The fairly significant confusion in Minnesota PL 280 jurisdiction cases may be playing a role here.
The petition is here.
Cert Petition in In re Beaulieu: Chance for SCT to Clarify PL280 Confusion in Minnesota and Wisconsin
Here:
Here are the questions presented:
1. Does Public Law 280 (18 U.S.C. § 1162 and 28 U.S.C. (1360) give the State of Wisconsin jurisdiction to involuntarily civilly commit a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe who is a legal resident of his tribal reservation under Minnesota’s Commitment and Treatment Act (Minn. Stat. Ch. 253B?)
2. Was Minnesota’s involuntary civil commitment of Beaulieu contrary to, and/or an unreasonable application of this Court’s clearly established law limiting Public Law 280’s grant of civil jurisdiction to private civil matters?
Lower court decision here.
Minnesota Appellate Court Rules on Contract Claims in Pawnee Casino Development Dispute
Here is the court’s unpublished opinion in Horizon Engineering Services Corp. v. Lakes Entertainment Inc.
An excerpt:
In January 2005, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized Indian tribe, hired respondent Lakes Entertainment, Inc. (LEI) to assist in developing, financing, and constructing a casino on Pawnee land in Chilocco, Oklahoma, and to provide consulting services for the project. The agreement was as memorialized in a gaming development consulting agreement (GDCA) between LEI and the Pawnee Chilocco Gaming Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pawnee Nation, formed to develop Pawnee gaming facilities, including the Chilocco casino.
Turtle Talk 
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