Alaska SCT Briefs in Asa’carsarmiut Tribal Council v. Wheeler

Here:

Asa’carsarmiut Tribal Council Opening Brief

Wheeler Response Brief

Asa’carsarmiut Tribal Council Reply

Here are the questions presented (from the opening brief):

1. Whether, in light of this Court’s prior precedents, particularly State v. Native Village of Tanana, 249 P.3d 734 (Alaska 2011), a Superior Court may try a custody action in a matter involving an Alaska Native child without adhering to the requirements of Alaska’s Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), AS 25.30.300, et seq., when a tribal court has previously entered an initial determination regarding the child.
2. Whether the Superior Court erred in interpreting Alaska’s UCCJEA, AS 25.30.300, et. seq., as excluding tribal courts within the meaning of “court” in AS 25.30.909(6) and erred in failing to register the Asa’carsarmiut Tribal Court custody order, in light of the Court’s prior precedents, particularly State v. Native Village of Tanana, 249 P.3d 734 (Alaska 2011).
3. Whether the Superior Court erred in concluding that it had “at least concurrent jurisdiction over the issue of Jacob’s custody,” and proceeded to enter an initial child custody determination without giving comity to or contacting the Asa‘carsarmiut Tribal Court and requesting that the Asa‘carsarmiut Tribal Court determine that it no longer had exclusive, continuing jurisdiction or, alternatively, establishing that the Superior Court “would be a more convenient forum.”
4. Whether, if it is found that the Superior Court properly had jurisdiction to modify the Asa’carsarmiut Tribal Court order pursuant to AS 25.30.320, the Superior Court erred by failing to enter an Order Modifying Custody that stated its authority to modify the Asa‘carsarmiut Tribal Court order as well as its findings regarding a *3 substantial change of circumstances, pursuant to AS 25.20.110 rather than a Final Custody Decree and Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.
5. Whether, in light of the Court’s prior precedent, particularly John v. Baker, 982 P.2d 738 (Alaska 1999), a Superior Court may try a custody action in a matter involving an Alaska Native child without engaging in a comity analysis when a tribal court had previously entered a custody order regarding the child.

 

Alaska SCT Briefs in State Appeal of Tribal Court Child Support Enforcement Authority

Here are the materials in State of Alaska v. Central Council of Haida and Tlingit Indian Tribes of Alaska:

State Brief

NATCSD Amicus Brief

Central Council Brief

US Amicus Brief

Lower court materials here.

ICT on NICS’ New Online Tribal Court Opinions Database

Here is ” Northwest Tribal Courts Providing Free Access to Justice.”

We posted on this here.

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/07/01/northwest-tribal-courts-providing-free-access-justice-155581

Eighth Circuit Briefs in Tribal Court Jurisdiction Matter — Belcourt Public School District v. Davis

Here:

Belcourt Public School District Opening Brief

Tribal Response Brief

Belcourt Public School District Reply Brief

Lower court materials here.

Northwest Intertribal Court System Appellate Opinions Now Online

Here.

More details:

NICS Appellate Reporter announcement

NICS Appellate Reporter press release

NICS Appellate Reporter print edition order form

 

NCJFCJ 77th Annual Conference, July 13-16, 2014

Join us in Chicago, Illinois for this year’s 77th Annual Conference featuring a wide range of juvenile and family law topics including child abuse and neglect, trauma, custody and visitation, judicial leadership, juvenile justice, sex trafficking of minors, family violence, drug courts, psychotropic medications, children testifying in court, detention alternatives, substance abuse, and the adolescent brain.

In addition, this year we are offering a preconference workshop, Special Consideration for Working with Adolescents with Substance Abuse Issues, designed for professionals working with juvenile justice involved youth who also have mental health, substance abuse, or trauma issues. Any juvenile court judges, juvenile drug court coordinators, attorneys, probation officers, case managers, and substance abuse treatment counselors are encouraged to attend.

Information available here.

News Profile of Tribal Sovereignty in South Dakota

Here. “What is tribal sovereignty?”

Michigan State Law Review Symposium on Wenona Singel’s “Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability”

Michigan State Law Review has published several articles from its symposium on Wenona Singel’s paper “Indian Tribes and Human Rights Accountability.”

Tribal Rights, Human Rights

Kristen A. Carpenter & Angela R. Riley

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 293 | Download PDF

Nenabozho’s Smart Berries: Rethinking Tribal Sovereignty and Accountability

Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 339 | Download PDF

Jurisdiction and Human Rights Accountability in Indian Country

Kirsten Matoy Carlson

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 355 | Download PDF

First “Review” of Scholarly Promise and Achievement

Frank Pommersheim

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 291 | Download PDF

Tribal Sovereignty and Human Rights

Joseph William Singer

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 307 | Download PDF

A Most Grievous Display of Behavior: Self-Decimation in Indian Country

David E. Wilkins

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 325 | Download PDF

Healing to Wellness Courts: Therapeutic Justice

Joseph Thomas Flies-Away & Carrie E. Garrow

2013 Mich. St. L. Rev. 403 | Download PDF

 

Phil Tinker on Tribal Authority to Regulate Nonmember Conduct in Indian Country

Phil Tinker has posted his paper, “In Search of a Civil Solution: Tribal Authority to Regulate Nonmember Conduct in Indian Country,” forthcoming in the September 2014 issue of the Tulsa Law Review.

Here is the abstract:

Violence in Indian Country is epidemic. Tribal governments, which ostensibly have primary responsibility for keeping the peace within their territory, are hampered by restrictive federal laws that prohibit Tribes from exercising criminal authority over non-Indians. This is so even where those non-Indian lawbreakers live on the reservation and commit acts of violence against tribal members. Instead, the federal government is responsible for investigating and prosecuting most on-reservation crime. This irrational system is the product an archaic federal policies dating back to the 19th century that have never been adequate to protect Indian communities.

Federal Court Holds Tribal Courts May Adjudicate Claims against On-Rez Public Schools in North Dakota

Here are the materials in Belcourt Public School District v. Davis (D. N.D.):

19 Belcourt Motion for Summary J

19-6 TMAC Appellate Decision

26 Defendants Response

27 Belcourt Reply

33 DCT Order

And here is the opinion in Fort Yates Public School District #4 v. Murphy (D. N.D.):

40 DCT Order

We posted materials in this matter here.