Ninth Circuit – Page 64

Ninth Circuit Holds Shoshone-Bannock Land Use Office/Court Has No Jurisdiction over Nonmember on Nonmember Lands

December 5, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in Evans v. Shoshone-Bannock Land Use Policy Commission. The court’s syllabus:

Reversing in the district court’s denial of a motion for preliminary injunction and dismissal of an action seeking to enjoin tribal court proceedings, the panel held that the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes lacked the power to regulate the land use of the plaintiff, a nonmember who owned land in fee simple within the Fort Hall Reservation.

The panel held that the plaintiff was not required to exhaust tribal remedies before bringing suit in federal court because the tribal court plainly lacked jurisdiction. The panel held that because the plaintiff was an owner of non-Indian fee land, the Tribes’ efforts to regulate him were presumptively invalid under Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544 (1981), and an exception for the regulation of nonmember activity that directly affects a tribe’s political integrity, economic security, health, or welfare did not apply. The panel reversed the judgment of the district court and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Briefs and lower court materials are here.

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Asks Wash. Dept. of Revenue to Withdraw Guidance re: Chehalis Decision

November 26, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Res 13-87

That guidance is here.

Washington Dept. of Revenue Interim Guidance in Light of Chehalis v. Thurston County

November 19, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

Assessors — Interim Guidance 9th Circuit Court Decision — Memo Attachment

Here is the text:

Interim Guidance to County Assessors regarding the Application of the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision in Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Thurston County Board of Equalization

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Ninth Circuit Briefs in Challenge to Navajo Labor Jurisdiction over Window Rock Unified School District

November 18, 2013February 19, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Here are the briefs in Window Rock Unified School District v. Reeves:

Reeves Opening Brief

Navajo Nation Labor Commission Opening Brief

Navajo Nation Supreme Court Amicus Brief

Window Rock Answer Brief

Navajo Nation Labor Commission Reply Brief

Lower court materials here.

Ninth Circuit Briefs in Pala Disenrollment Appeal — Allen v. Smith

November 11, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

(August 9 2013) Appellants_ Opening Brief

Answering Brief 11-8-13

Lower court materials here.

Alaska Seeks Supreme Court Review of Alaska Native Susbistence Rights under Katie John

November 5, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the petition in Alaska v. Jewell:

State of Alaska Petition and Appendix

Questions presented:

1. Whether the Ninth Circuit properly held—in conflict with this Court’s decisions—that the federal reserved water rights doctrine authorizes the unprecedented federal takeover of Alaska’s navigable waters sanctioned by the 1999 Rule.
2. Whether the Ninth Circuit properly proceeded on the premise—which also conflicts with this Court’s decisions—that ANILCA could be interpreted to federalize navigable waters at all given Congress’s silence on the Act’s application to navigable waters.

Lower court materials here.

Ninth Circuit Dismisses Wandering Medicine Voting Rights Appeal as Moot

October 30, 2013Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished order:

Wandering Medicine Mem Dispo

An excerpt:

Because we conclude that the scope of the preliminary injunction only included the 2012 election, this court can no longer provide plaintiffs with the relief requested—requiring defendants to open satellite offices in time for that election. Although plaintiffs’ complaint requested “preliminary and permanent injunctive relief . . . for the 2012 primary election and . . . for all future elections,” plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction included no such language, and the evidence presented to the district court focused almost exclusively on the 2012 election. As that election has passed, there is no longer any relief that this court can provide with respect to that election.

Briefs and other materials here.