Supreme Court

Andrew Cohen: Turtle Talk SCT Preview in the Top 10

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

It’s the last Friday in September, just hours before the first Monday in October, which means you cannot swing a cat without hitting a preview of the coming Supreme Court term. I wrote one earlier this week. My esteemed colleague here at The Atlantic, Garrett Epps, wrote a really good oneyesterday. And all throughout the universe of law and journalism, women and men of good cheer and business suits are chiming in from behind water glasses and paper name-cards to help explore and explain what the nine justices will be pondering over the next nine months.

Because I know you’ll itch to have something meaty to absorb while you are watching the start of the playoffs in baseball, or the excellent college football games Saturday afternoon, or the even better professional football games on Sunday, I figured I would save you the trouble of scouring through the InterWeb to find the best Supreme Court previews out there. My list of 10 is by no means complete. But it’s a good start and I hope you’ll feel free in the comments to suggest other previews which are worthwhile.

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6. Regular readers of this space know that I try when I can to raise attention to Indian law issues, which almost never get the mainstream attention they often deserve. Here then fromTurtle Talk is a straightforward preview of the cases the justices could accept for review this term. Unfortunately, the High Court has a shameful record of blowing off Native American interests in the certiorari process.

NCAI Cert Stage Amicus Brief in Patchak Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

QL-sPBR1pnL

Details on Justice Sotomayor’s Visit to UNM Law and Jemez Pueblo

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Local Units of Government and Business Groups File Amicus in Favor of Cert Petition in Gun Lake/Salazar v. Patchak

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

Wayland Twp Amicus Brief

See, I wasn’t joking when I said this here:

“Wayland and its surrounding townships long have hoped for more industry and economic growth – I know, I grew up there. So it’s just one guy for all we know who doesn’t want that. He’s pretty firmly in a tiny minority,” Fletcher said.

Tax Protesters Petition Opposing Native Hawaiians is SCOTUSBlog Petition of the Day

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Seems odd to me, but maybe SCOTUSblog thinks of the Native Hawaiians and the State of Hawaii as a disfavored party in the Supreme Court.

Here:

Corboy v. Louie

Docket: 11-336 
Issue(s): (1) Whether petitioners have standing to seek a refund of their own taxes; and (2) whether the Equal Protection Clause precludes a state or municipality from creating tax exemptions that are available only to members of a certain race.

Certiorari stage documents:

Jeffrey Fisher on A Supreme Court Clinic’s Place in the Supreme Court Bar

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Jeffrey Fisher has posted his paper, “A Supreme Court Clinic’s Place in the Supreme Court Bar” on SSRN. His clinic at Stanford had assisted the Navajo Nation and other tribes in filing a cert petition in Navajo Nation v. USFS, the San Francisco Peaks case.

Supreme Court Order List from Long Conference: No Oneida or Navajo Grants

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is today’s order list. Next week, the Court will issue the order list of denials.

Presumably, that means United States v. New York, Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County, EEOC v. Peabody Western Coal Co., Navajo Nation v. EEOC, and Peabody Western Coal Co. v. EEOC have all been denied, although that won’t be confirmed until later.

Cert Opposition Brief in Gila River Indian Community v. Lyon

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Lyon Cert Opposition Brief

The cert petition is here. The Indian Land Working Group Amicus brief is here.

Supreme Court 2011 Term: A Preview of the Indian Law Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

The “long conference” is next Monday, and so the 2011 Term is under way. Here are the cases that are on the radar, with an emphasis on the petitions on the agenda for Monday.

Petitions Slated for the Long Conference:

Oneida Indian Nation v. Oneida County (No. 10-1420) and United States v. New York (10-1404), involving the Oneida land claims and Sherrill, is already a petition to watch. The fact that the federal government filed a petition is huge, but the Court has denied similar petitions….

Navajo Nation v. EEOC (No. 10-981) and Peabody Western Coal Co. v. EEOC (No. 10-986), along with EEOC v. Peabody Western Coal Co. (No. 10-1080), a conditional cross-petition. This case involves the long-running Navajo tribal employment preference act. Although labeled a petition to watch, the feds are opposing the main petitions, and this one will be denied. A Rule 19 case.

Petitions Slated for Later Conferences:

Arctic Slope Native Assn. v. Sebelius (No. 11-33). This petition involving contract support costs under the Indian Self-Determination Act has a strong chance, with a circuit split between the Federal Circuit (here) and the Tenth Circuit (here and perhaps here).

Salazar v. Patchak (No. 11-247) and Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak (No. 11-246). This one has already been slated a “petition to watch.” The federal government’s effort to protect federal immunity under the Quiet Title Act is almost certain to be granted.

Gila River Indian Community v. Lyon (No. 11-80). Like the EEOC case, a Rule 19 case. One of these days, the SCT will hear a Rule 19 case where an Indian tribe is the missing indispensable party.

Seneca Telephone v. Miami Tribe (No. 11-183). Any case with tribal sovereign immunity as the backdrop has a chance, but this one has no split and no real major issue.

Reed v. Gutierrez (No. 10-1390). Another immunity case, even less likely to be granted than Seneca Telephone, given that Kiowa completely controls this one without doubt.

Corboy v. Louie (No. 11-336). Any petition involving the Native Hawaiians is bound to attract some Justices’ attention, but this one is being brought by tax protesters, not a favored party in the Supreme Court.

Evans v. Wapato Heritage (No. 11-215).