2013 Rincon Band Summer Legal Internship

The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, Office of the Attorney General, is establishing a summer internship program for a law student who has completed at least one year of law school in an ABA accredited institution. The Rincon Attorney General is seeking applicants with an interest in federal Indian law for a seven-week position, beginning June 17, 2013 and ending on August 2, 2013.
This internship will offer the opportunity to obtain practical knowledge and experience regarding both tribal and federal Indian law. A law student will assist the Attorney General to research and develop a land tenure inventory in compliance with the Rincon Band Land Assignment Ordinance. This position is full-time. A stipend equivalent to $900 per week will be paid to the selected candidate.

Applications are due by close of business on June 3, 2013. The selected candidate will be informed by June 7, 2013. To apply, please submit the following to Aimee Powers, by e-mail to apowers@rincontribe.org, or fax to (760) 749-5144, by the deadline:
(1) A cover letter;
(2) A current resume;
(3) A writing sample; and
(4) A copy of your transcript.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
In order to be eligible for selection and participation, an applicant must meet the following requirements at the time the internship begins and for the duration of the internship:
(1) Must be currently enrolled at an accredited law school and submit official transcript for the 2012-13 academic year prior to the start of the internship.
(3) Must not currently be subject to any disciplinary action by any institution or entity, including, but not limited to, any education or law enforcement agency.
(4) Must possess a high level of maturity with the ability to work with and maintain confidential information.
(5) Must possess a valid state driver’s license.

Please call or e-mail any questions to Aimee Powers at (760) 297-2680 or
apowers@rincontribe.org

Tort Claim against Rincon Casino Operations Dismissed on Tribal Court Exhaustion Grounds

Here are the materials in Butler v. Fortunes Asian Cuisine (S.D. Cal.):

DCT Order on Exhaustion

Rincon Defendants Motion to Dismiss

State Court Complaint

Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians Secretarial Procedures Materials

Here is Interior’s Decision letter:

Mazzetti 8 Feb 2013

Rincon’s press release:

Rincon Secretarial PR28

And the procedures:

Sec Proc Rincon 2 8 13

From the press release:

For the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, it took seven years of litigation, negotiations, and an unorthodox route of approval to get their 1999 tribal-state gaming compact renegotiated. Setting a legal and political precedent as the first California agreement negotiated through the federal courts, the Rincon secretarial procedures were approved by Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, February 8, 2013.

Harrah’s Effort to Remove Tort Claim to Federal Court Fails

Here are the materials in Manoukian v. Harrah’s (S.D. Cal.):

DCT Order Remanding to State Court

Harrah’s Motion to Dismiss

Montana 2 Case at Rincon Band Dismissed under Tribal Exhaustion Doctrine

Here is the opinion in Rincon Mushroom Corp. v. Mazzetti (S.D. Cal.):

2010-09-22 Order Dismissing

And this pleading, which seems to say it all: Rincon Band Motion to Dismiss

Tribal Amicus Brief Supporting Kickapoo v. Texas Cert Petition

Several tribes — Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Coquille Indian Tribe, Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — filed a joint amicus brief supporting the Kickapoo Tribe’s cert petition over the Secretarial procedures for establishing Class III gaming compacts, a rule struck down by the Fifth Circuit a few months ago. Here is the Tribal Amicus Brief. Here is the link to the Kickapoo cert petition. The State’s cert opposition is due later this month.

It is significant, of course, that the United States did not file a cert petition.