Navajo Nation

HCN: “Contested water settlements inflamed the Navajo Nation’s health crisis”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Federal Court Holds Insurance Company Not Subject to Tribal Jurisdiction

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Zurich American Insurance Company v. McPaul (D. Ariz.):

42 DCT Order

Briefs here.

Lezmond Mitchell Letter in Support — Please Consider Signing

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Lezmond Mitchell’s defense team . . . .

Over the objections of the Navajo Nation, Lezmond Mitchell, the only Native American person on the federal government’s death row, is scheduled to be executed on August 26. 2020. Mr. Mitchell, a Navajo man who was just 20 years old at the time of his crime, was sentenced to death for killing two Navajo people on Navajo tribal land. Although the Navajo Nation opposed a death sentence for him – and has steadfastly maintained this opposition – the government exploited a legal loophole to capitally prosecute Mr. Mitchell.

Whether Mr. Mitchell lives or dies is now in President Trump’s hands. Mr. Mitchell has filed an application for executive clemency asking the President to commute his sentence to life without the possibility of release.

It is vital to demonstrate the widespread opposition to Mr. Mitchell’s death sentence from tribal  leaders and Native American citizens throughout the country. We hope you will add your name to a letter urging President Trump to grant him clemency. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR LEZMOND MITCHELL, so please click here to add your name now. Signatures must be received by August 16, 2020.

Thank you so much for adding your voice to this important effort, and please share this widely with other Native Americans.

Again, the letter is available at this link.

Federal Government Sets Execution Date for Lezmond Mitchell

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Justice Department sets execution date for only Native American on death row.”

Here is the most recent opinion in his case, where two Ninth Circuit judges questioned his sentence.

Below is a statement from counsel for Mr. Mitchell. Deputy Federal Public Defenders Jonathan Aminoff and Celeste Bacchi:
“With the enactment of the Federal Death Penalty Act, Congress made a commitment to the Native American peoples that no Native American would be subjected to the death penalty for a crime committed against a fellow Native American on Native American land unless the tribe consented. In what the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals referred to as a “betrayal of a promise made to the Navajo Nation,” the Department of Justice exploited a legal loophole and sought the death penalty against Mr. Mitchell for the federal crime of carjacking over the objection of the Navajo Nation, the victims’ family, and the local United States Attorney’s Office. The federal government’s announcement that it now plans to execute Lezmond Mitchell demonstrates the ultimate disrespect for the Navajo Nation’s values and sovereignty.
The Government’s contravention of tribal autonomy did not end with the decision to pursue a death sentence against Mr. Mitchell. In addition to the charging decision, the Government committed misconduct in the course of this prosecution by confining Mr. Mitchell in a tribal jail where they continually interrogated him over the course of 25 days without providing him an attorney. Furthermore, the Government systematically excluded Navajos from serving on Mr. Mitchell’s jury, resulting in a jury composed of 11 white people and only one Navajo. Unfortunately, we have been barred from investigating concerns of juror bias amongst Mr. Mitchell’s jury. Under these circumstances, allowing Mr. Mitchell’s execution to go forward would be a grave injustice and an unprecedented affront to tribal sovereignty, and it should not be permitted to proceed. We will continue to pursue all available avenues of relief for Mr. Mitchell from his unconstitutional convictions and death sentence.”

 

-Deputy Federal Public Defenders Jonathan Aminoff and Celeste Bacchi, attorneys for Lezmond Mitchell

-July 29, 2020

Environmental Groups Challenge BLM Oil and Gas Leases at Navajo

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment v. Bureau of Land Management (D.N.M.):

1-complaint-3.pdf

Atlantic Piece on How Union Monuments in the West Celebrate the Killing of Indian People

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “Americans Need to Know the Hard Truth About Union Monuments in the West — During the Civil War, Union soldiers in the West weren’t fighting to end slavery, but to annihilate and remove Native Americans.”

NYTs Op-Ed: “The Top U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spots Are All Indian Lands”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Congressional Letter to Indian Health Service re: Faulty PPE Sent to Navajo

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

IHS Letter

RFP for Navajo Nation

Kate Fort

Here. Due June 8.

Scope of Work: The selected contractor (attorney or law firm) will provide the following services to the Navajo Nation: Under the direction of the Navajo Nation Attorney General or her designee, the Attorneys, as independent contractors, will provide legal services to the Navajo Nation Office of the Attorney General in connection with Special Investigation and related litigation matters involving the legal interests of the Navajo Nation. Proposal should describe Attorneys expertise and work experience in the following areas:

• Special Investigation Work

• Civil and Criminal Litigation in Navajo Courts and Federal Court

• Evaluating Government Attorney Ethics Issues

PBS Newshour: “U.S. Native communities see COVID-19 as existential threat”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.