Supreme Court

United States Recommends Certiorari Grant in Menominee Tribe v. United States

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the government’s brief:

US cert response brief

An excerpt:

The court of appeals correctly held that neither the Tribe’s erroneous prediction of the outcome of litigation, nor its expectation that the government would deny its administrative claims, warrants equitable tolling of the CDA’s six-year limitations period. That decision, however, squarely conflicts with the Federal Circuit’s decision in Arctic Slope Native Ass’n v. Sebelius, 699 F .3d 1289 (2012), which found tolling appropriate on materially similar facts. In the government’s view, certiorari is warranted.

Cert petition is here.

Lower court materials here.

State of Nebraska v. Parker Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

State of Nebraska v Parker cert petition

Questions presented:

In Solem v. Bartlett, the Court articulated a three-part analysis designed to evaluate whether a surplus land act may have resulted in a diminishment of a federal Indian reservation. See 465 U.S. 463, 470-72 (1984). The Court found that the “statutory language used to open the Indian lands,” “events surrounding the passage of a surplus land Act,” and “events that occurred after the passage of a surplus land Act” are all relevant to determining whether diminishment has occurred.

The questions presented by the petition are:

1. Whether ambiguous evidence concerning the first two Solem factors necessarily forecloses any possibility that diminishment could be found on a de facto basis.

2. Whether the original boundaries of the Omaha Indian Reservation were diminished following passage of the Act of August 7, 1882.

Lower court materials here.

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Stop the Casino 101 v. California

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list. 

Petition here. 

Dollar General Response Brief to SG’s Invitation Brief

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

13-1496 Petr Supp Brief

SG Invitation brief here.

Cert stage briefs here.

Oklahoma v. Hobia is SCOTUSBlog Petition of the Day

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

The petition is here.

SG’s Invitation Brief Opposing Dollar General Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here:

13-1496 Dollar General CVSG

Cert stage briefs are here.

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Western Sky v. Jackson

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order list.

Cert stage briefs are here.

Lower court materials here.

SCOTUS Holds FTCA’s Time Bars are Subject to Equitable Tolling

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in United States v. Kwai Fun Wong. An excerpt:

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA or Act) provides that a tort claim against the United States “shall be forever barred” unless it is presented to the “appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues” and then brought to federal court “within six months” after the agency acts on the claim. 28 U. S. C. §2401(b). In each of the two cases we resolve here, the claimant missed one of those deadlines, but requested equitable tolling on the ground that she had a good reason for filing late. The Government responded that §2401(b)’s time limits are not subject to tolling because they are jurisdictional restrictions. Today, we reject the Government’s argument and conclude that courts may toll both of the FTCA’s limitations periods.

Stop the Casino 101 Coalition v. Brown Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

Cert Petition

Questions presented:

1. Does the federal government have the unilateral power to alter California’s historic territorial jurisdiction and transfer that jurisdiction to an Indian tribe?

2. If the answer to the first question is affirmative, should a federal statute restoring tribal recognition and authorizing the United States to accept fee title to unspecified private lands within California’s borders be construed as transferring territorial jurisdiction from the state to the tribe when the statutory language is silent on that subject?

3. Can a state’s territorial jurisdiction shift by implication, or is an express, unequivocal acceptance of jurisdiction required under 40 U.S.C. § 3112?

Lower court materials here.

 

SCOTUS Denies Cert in Wisconsin v. LCO Night Deer Hunting Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is today’s order list.

The petition is here.