Here is the opinion in Muscogee (Creek) Nation v. Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Briefs are here.
Lower court materials here.
Tenth Circuit
A Comment on the Tenth Circuit’s Refusal to Allow Indian Law Profs to File an Amicus Brief in HRI v. EPA
If you didn’t notice, the Tenth Circuit declined to grant a motion to file an amicus brief drafted by Sarah Krakoff and signed by several American Indian law professors in the HRI case. The court wrote:
Pending before the court are several motions seeking leave to file amicus briefs. Because the movants possess an adequate interest and present arguments that are useful to this court, we grant the motions of the Pueblos of Santa Clara, Sandia, Isleta, and Zia and the United Nuclear Corporation. We deny the motion of the American Indian Law Professors for leave to file an amicus brief only because granting the motion would cause one or more members of this court to recuse themselves from the matter. See 16AA Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 3975, at 318-19 (4th ed. 2008) (“Some circuits will restrict amicus filings in order to avoid disqualifying a member … of the en banc court….”). The states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming also filed an amicus brief, which Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(a) allows them to do without requesting the leave of this court.
Other than this oblique reference to Wright and Miller, there is no explanation for why one or more judges would have to recuse themselves from this matter.
Very troubling (but at least the Pueblo brief was accepted).
Tenth Circuit Vacates EPA’s Dependent Indian Community Determination in HRI v. EPA
Here is the opinion of the Tenth Circuit sitting en banc. Five judges dissented. [Updated link here.]
Here are the en banc supplemental briefs:
Navajo Nation Supplemental Brief
American Indian Law Profs Amicus Brief [The court denied the motion to file this amicus brief. See opinion at 25 n. 7]
Our posting on the panel decision is here.
John Echohawk on Keith Harper for the Tenth Circuit
From the Tulsa World:
At the Native American Rights Fund, we have always hired the best and the brightest to advocate for Indian rights and the orderly development of Indian law. One of the most outstanding lawyers to ever work with us is Keith M. Harper, who has been in the news lately as a potential nominee for a position on the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
No Native American lawyer has ever served on an appellate court in the federal justice system. I do not know if it is true that my colleague will be nominated to serve on the 10th Circuit. If it is true, President Obama is to be commended on his fine choice. I do know that Harper is highly qualified and deserves to be nominated and confirmed.
During my 40 years in the practice of American Indian law, we Native attorneys have worked toward the day that one of us would break through the glass ceiling and be named as an appellate judge. At 64, I and most other Native lawyers of my generation are not seeking judicial appointments, because those should go to younger people who can serve on the bench for a long time. Harper is 43 and could have an extended future as an appellate judge.
I know Harper and his work very well and can attest to his upstanding character and his diligent work ethic. He has a first-rate mind, a compassionate heart and an even temperament. He enjoys the respect of his peers and a well-deserved reputation as a thorough litigator and a fair judge. He was a NARF senior staff attorney for 11 years and his success as a litigator is a matter of public record.
Today, he is a partner with Kilpatrick Stockton LLP and chairman of its Native American Practice Group. He served the Obama-Biden presidential transition on the energy and environment cluster and served Obama for America on the National Finance Committee and as chairman of the Native American Domestic Policy Committee.
Tenth Circuit Applies Quiet Title Act in Tribal Challenge to Trust Acquisition–UPDATED with Briefs
Keith Harper for the Tenth Circuit Drawing Intense Opposition
From the Tulsa World via Pechanga:
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is considering a Washington, D.C., attorney and former adviser to the president’s campaign to fill an appeals court vacancy created by the resignation of veteran Judge Robert Henry of Oklahoma, the Tulsa World has learned.
If officially nominated for what is viewed as an Oklahoma seat on the court, Keith Harper is expected to draw strong opposition from key Oklahoma Democrats and Republicans.
The White House move to vet Harper for the slot on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is being described as an “insult” to the state and even “stupid.”
Opposition appears to be coalescing around the fact that Harper is not from Oklahoma and the way the White House has excluded certain key players from the process to fill the post.
Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe vowed to do whatever needs to be done to block the nomination, if it ever gets to the Senate.
Inhofe’s options range from the so-called “blue slip” process, which allows senators to make their wishes known privately on judicial nominations and can be used to kill a nomination, to an outright hold.
“It is stupid,” he said. “If they are serious about doing something with this guy, there were ways they could have done it that would have been much more palatable to us.”
Tenth Circuit Rejects Osage Man Challenge to Property Tax Assessment
Here is the unpublished opinion in Prather v. Hedgecoth.
And the opening brief: Prather Opening Brief
Tenth Circuit Affirms Sentence in Major Crimes Act Conviction
Here is the unpublished opinion in United States v. Jim, a case arising on the Navajo Reservation.
Tenth Circuit Affirms Immunity of Santa Ana Pueblo Officials in Section 1985 Suit
Amicus Briefs Supporting Osage Petition for En Banc Hearing in Reservation Disestablishment Case
Here:
The petition and other materials are here.
Turtle Talk 
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