Lexis Legal News : Mealey's Native American Law : Lawsuit Filings, Litigation, Settlements, Verdicts and Court News

Mealey's Native American Law

July 22, 2019
Indian Major Crimes Act Applies To Wife Killer, 9th Circuit Rules

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 17 upheld the murder conviction of a member of the Blackfeet Tribe after finding that he meets the requirements for federal prosecution under the Indian Major Crimes Act (United States v. Thomas Edward Mancha, No. 18-30020, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 21167).
July 17, 2019
8th Circuit Upholds Legality Of Tribal Court Child Placement Rulings

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A state court proceeding is not needed before an Indian child welfare case goes to a tribal court under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and the lack of a state court ruling did not violate the due process rights of a mother and grandmother, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided July 16 (Kimberly Watso, et al. v. Tony Lourey, et al., No. 18-1723, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 21018).
July 12, 2019
Justice Department Connects Tribes To Federal Sex Offender Registry

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS) is a new crime-fighting tool for Native American tribes that gives tribal governments the ability to input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced July 11.
July 11, 2019
$1.4B Settlement Announced For English Company’s Role In Opioid Treatment Probe

SLOUGH, England — Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC on July 11 announced that it has reached agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to pay up to $1.4 billion to resolve federal investigations into the marketing of the company’s former Suboxone Film opioid treatment.
July 10, 2019
Michigan Supreme Court: Tribal Government Not The Same As Local Government

LANSING, Mich. — The government of a federally recognized Indian tribe does not constitute a “local government” under Michigan’s Constitution, the state’s Supreme Court held July 8 in a 6-1 decision (Fred Paquin v City of St. Ignace, No. 156823, Mich. Sup., 2019 Mich. LEXIS 1246).
July 09, 2019
4th Circuit: Tribe’s Lending Entities Protected By Sovereign Immunity

RICHMOND, Va. — Two tribal payday lending companies are arms of the tribe and, as such, are protected from customers’ class action usury claims by the tribe’s sovereign immunity, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 3 in reversing a federal trial court (Lula Williams, et al. v. Big Picture Loans, LLC, et al., No. 18-1827, 4th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19957).
July 09, 2019
Agency: Native American Tribe Missed Its Chance To Consult On Fracking Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 5 filed a brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that the court should deny a Native American tribal preservation group’s motion seeking to intervene in the agency’s decision to allow the construction of a pipeline to carry hydraulically fractured gas across tribal lands because the tribe was given the opportunity to consult with FERC during the permit process and failed to do so (Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Office v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, No. 19-1009, D.C. Cir.).
July 09, 2019
Split 8th Circuit: Drug-Taking Indian Mom Can Be Charged With Manslaughter

ST. PAUL, Minn. — An Indian woman whose infant son died soon after being born due to toxicity from the drugs she took while pregnant can be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a divided Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held July 5 in reversing a trial court’s dismissal of the woman’s indictment (United States v. Samantha Flute, No. 17-3727, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 20052).
July 03, 2019
7th Circuit Rebuffs Wisconsin Tribe’s Rehearing Bid In Casino Dispute

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 28 denied a request to reconsider its divided decision that a Wisconsin Indian tribe waited too long to challenge another tribe’s competing casino operations under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) (The Stockbridge-Munsee Community v. Wisconsin, et al., No. 18-1449, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19519).
July 02, 2019
South Dakota State’s Attorney: Cert Not Warranted For Tribes’ Child Services Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is no need for U.S. Supreme Court review of an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling directing a trial court to abstain from hearing a suit filed by tribes and tribal members challenging South Dakota’s process for removing children from their homes in emergency situations, the state’s attorney tells the high court in a June 27 response brief (Oglala Sioux Tribe, et al. v. Lisa Fleming, et al., No. 18-1245, U.S. Sup., 2019 U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 2356).
June 28, 2019
Barr Announces Efforts To Reduce Crime In Native Alaskan Villages

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. attorney general on June 28 declared a law enforcement emergency in rural Alaska under the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance Program and said the federal government has allocated $6 million to Alaska that is available immediately “for critical law enforcement needs of Alaska Native villages.”
June 28, 2019
9th Circuit Rejects Washington Tribe’s Bid To Expand Fishing Grounds

SEATTLE — A Washington state Indian tribe fails in its attempt to have a river included in its treaty-guaranteed fishing grounds because it did not follow the proper procedure for a judicial determination under a 45-year-old court decree resolving tribal fishing grounds disputes, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held June 26 in a divided opinion (United States v. Washington, et al., No. 17-35760, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 19068).
June 27, 2019
Justices To Hear Reargument In Dispute Over Size Of Oklahoma Reservation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Native American convicted of murder will have to wait until another term of the U.S. Supreme Court to find out if a ruling vacating his state court conviction so he can be tried in federal court will stand after the high court justices on June 27 restored the case to the calendar rather than issuing an opinion so it can be reargued next term (Mike Carpenter v. Patrick Dwayne Murphy, No. 17-1107, U.S. Sup.).
June 26, 2019
Massachusetts Tribe’s Fight To Build Casino Stays In District Of Columbia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A battle between town residents and a Massachusetts Indian tribe over the tribe’s attempt to build a casino, water park and hotels has shifted from the commonwealth to Washington after a District of Columbia federal judge on June 21 denied a request by the residents to transfer venue (Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe v. Ryan Zinke, et al., No. 18-2242, D. D.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104109).
June 25, 2019
Motion For Opioid MDL Negotiating Class To Be Revised; New Hearing Aug. 6

CLEVELAND — The Ohio federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation on June 25 adjourned a hearing on a motion to certify a novel “negotiation class” so that the moving plaintiffs can get input from state attorneys general and counties and incorporate them into a revised motion (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2804, No. 17-md-2804, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Div.).
June 24, 2019
Tribes, Environmental Groups Say Appeal Of Fracking Leases Is Not Moot

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Native American tribal groups and conservationists on June 21 filed a brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that their appeal of the Trump administration’s decision to reinstate hydraulic fracturing leases on tribal land in Montana is not moot, as the administration has suggested (W.A. Moncrief, Jr. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al., No. 18-5340, D.C. Cir.).
June 24, 2019
Court Rejects Indian Inmate’s Petition After Allowing Prosecutions By 2 Sovereigns

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 24 turned down a request to decide an Indian woman’s double jeopardy claims for a federal manslaughter charge that followed her manslaughter conviction in a tribal court, after holding a week prior in another case that a person can be prosecuted for the same crime by separate sovereigns (Tawnya Bearcomesout v. United States, No. 17-6856, U.S. Sup.).
June 24, 2019
Justices Decline To Review Ruling Allowing Injury Claims Against Tribe, Casino

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 agreed with the U.S. government and denied a petition for certiorari challenging an Alabama Supreme Court decision that an Indian tribe is not protected by tribal sovereign immunity from tort claims in a car crash personal injury negligence suit (Poarch Band of Creek Indians, et al. v. Casey Marie Wilkes, et al., No. 17-1175, U.S. Sup.).
June 21, 2019
Ruling On Assault Victim’s Indian Status Affirmed By 9th Circuit Panel

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 17 upheld a man’s conviction for an assault that happened on a Montana Indian reservation after finding that there was enough evidence at trial to show that the victim is an Indian under the General Crimes Act (United States v. Edward Anthony Torres, No. 18-30140, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 18084).
June 21, 2019
South Dakota Supreme Court Says Ex-Employee’s Case Against Tribal School Preempted

PIERRE, S.D. — Wrongful termination claims leveled by a former principal at an Indian school are preempted by federal laws providing for the education of Native American children, the South Dakota Supreme Court held June 19 in affirming dismissal of the claims in state court (Timothy Stathis v. Marty Indian School, et al., No. 2019 S.D. 33, S.D. Sup.).