Madison and Oneida Counties to Seek Supreme Court Review of Oneida Reservation Boundaries

Here is the latest pleading from the counties, seeking a stay from the CA2 on the reservation boundaries question:

Motion for Stay

Here was our last post, with the counties seeking en banc review of the reservation boundaries issue (the court recently denied the petition).

Second Circuit Materials in Federal Prosecution Dismissed Where Tribal Police Engaged in Off-Rez Conduct

Three of these cases just today!

Here are the materials in United States v. Wilson:

Wilson DCT Order 1

Wilson DCT Order 2 [motion to reconsider]

United States Opening Brief

St. Regis Mohawk Amicus Brief

Wilson Brief

United States Reply Brief

Opinion in United States v. Morrison

We posted about the lower court decision here.

Of the many arguments that the parties have raised, only two warrant extended 11 discussion. The first is the government’s contention that the district court erred in vacating Morrison’s conspiracy conviction on the ground of vagueness. The second is Morrison’s claim that the CCTA was inapplicable to him given New York’s “forbearance policy,” under which the State refrained from collecting taxes on cigarette sales transacted on Native American reservations. According to Morrison, this forbearance policy barred his conviction under the CCTA because that statute provides that, in order for a federal prosecution to lie, the state in which the allegedly contraband cigarettes are found must “require” tax stamps to be placed on  cigarettes. We reverse the district court’s order vacating Morrison’s RICO conspiracy conviction and reject all of Morrison’s challenges to his convictions.

Opinion

Appellant/Government’s Brief
Defendant/Appellee Brief
Government’s Response & Reply Brief
Appellee Reply Brief

Briefs in Shinnecock Second Circuit Gaming Case Now Available

We posted the opinion and lower court materials here.

And now the briefs:

Westwoods – Appellants

Westwoods – Appellees

Westwoods – Reply

Second Circuit Vacates Federal Court Injunction against Shinnecock Casino Construction in Southampton (Updated with Briefs)

Here is the opinion:

08-1194_complete_opn

It’s the Second Circuit, so there are no briefs (unless someone sends them along). Here are the briefs:

Shinnecock Brief

State and Town Brief

An excerpt:

The Shinnecock Indian Nation and its tribal officials (collectively, the “Shinnecock” or the “Tribe”) appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Joseph F. Bianco, Judge). After a bench trial, the district court granted a permanent injunction prohibiting the Tribe from developing a casino on a plot of land known as Westwoods without complying with the laws of New York State and the Town of Southampton. The Shinnecock object to a number of the district court’s factual and legal conclusions, including its findings: (1) that tribal sovereign immunity from suit does not bar this action; (2) that the Shinnecock’s aboriginal title to the land at Westwoods was extinguished in the seventeenth century; (3) that even if aboriginal title had not been extinguished, equitable principles would prevent the Shinnecock’s development of a casino in violation of state and local law; and (4) that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) supplanted any federal common law right the Tribe may have had to operate the casino. They also argue that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’s recent recognition of the Shinnecock Indian Nation moots the injunction.

We conclude that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this action, and thus do not reach the merits of this appeal.

Lower court materials are here and here.

Onondaga Reply Brief in Onondaga Nation v. New York

Here.

Previous coverage here.

Second Circuit Affirms Denial of TRO in Occupation of Traditional Indian Lands at Akwesasne

Here are the materials in Canadian St. Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Town of Bombay:

CA2 Opinion

Town Brief

Canadian St. Regis Mohawk Brief

St. Regis Mohawk Brief

US Brief

Town Reply

Briefs in 2nd Circuit Onondaga Nation Land Claims Case

Briefs for the Appellees:

State’s Brief

City of Syracuse and Corporate Appellee’s Brief

Previous coverage and appellant’s brief here.

Oneida Response Brief in Land Claims Attorney Fees Dispute

Here is Bond Schoenck and King’s opening brief.

Here is Oneida’s answer brief.

Lower court materials here.

New Student Scholarship on the Second Circuit’s Decision in Oneida Indian Nation v. Madison County

The Buffalo Law Review has published, ‘The Power to Tax is the Power to Foreclose: Reuniting Law and Logic in Tribal Immunity from Suit.”