Supreme Court Miniseries: Tribal Rights in the 21st Century
DE Talk | Building Foundational Relationships in Native American & Tribal Communities
Proof in Trial: Appellate Edition: Stand Up for California et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior et al.
Tribal Tax Exemption Under McGirt Gains Preliminary Victory
McGirt Uncertainty Extends to Federal Environmental Regulations in Indian Country
Revisiting McGirt: New Legal Developments Challenge Oklahoma’s Landmark Ruling
The Immediate and Lasting Impacts of McGirt: A Novel Ruling for Oklahoma
A Way Forward: Energy Industry Ready to Fuel Canada's Recovery
The actual authority of certain law enforcement officers is sometimes unclear in today’s climate. The most obvious example in the news today is the authority and identity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents...more
Since May 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued three decisions addressing or potentially impacting issues of bankruptcy law. These included rulings concerning the abrogation of sovereign immunity for Native American tribes...more
The courts have long been split on the question of whether Native American tribes are immune from legal attacks under federal bankruptcy law. Some courts have held that tribes and tribal-owned entities could not be sued for...more
This is a story that connects some dots we might well imagine have no connection: a 19th century murder, a 21st century adoption, Native tribal sovereignty, Supreme Court Justices past and present, and a law firm where we...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Coughlin. The case involved a tribal entity, “Lendgreen,” that lent an individual, Brian Coughlin, “$1,100 in...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Bankruptcy Code barred an Indian tribe’s attempts to collect on a defaulted debt from a Chapter 13 debtor....more
On June 15, 2023, Justice Jackson led the majority in an 8-1 decision holding that the Bankruptcy Code abrogates federally recognized tribes’ sovereign immunity. The decision has significant implications for tribal creditors...more
On June 15, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held that “the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all governments, including federally recognized Indian tribes.”1 In other words, Native...more
Section 106(a) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code expressly abrogates the sovereign immunity of "governmental units" for purposes of certain bankruptcy-related litigation. A split of authority concerning whether that abrogation...more
In January, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin after the First Circuit barred the Lac du Flambeau Band from seeking to collect on a $1,600 debt obligation...more
On June 15, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al. v. Coughlin, No. 22-227, holding that the Bankruptcy Code unambiguously abrogates the sovereign immunity of all...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that because Indian tribes are indisputably governments, the Bankruptcy Code unmistakably abrogates their sovereign immunity to bankruptcy court proceedings....more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued 3 decisions today: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin,No. 22-227: This statutory interpretation and federal Indian law case addressed the...more
On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court granted the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to resolve the split of circuits on whether Section 106 of the Bankruptcy Code...more
Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, No. 21-429: This case involves whether a State has authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in “Indian country.” The defendant was convicted in Oklahoma state court of...more
On September 3, 2021, in a potentially far-reaching decision, the U.S. District Court in Minnesota decided that it could not intervene in a case brought by tribal members suing the State of Minnesota for a pipeline permit...more
All three branches of the federal government had a busy spring. The U.S. Supreme Court just completed its 2017 term in June with a full-strength bench after spending much of the previous term with only eight justices after...more
On May 21, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Upper Skagit Indiana Tribe v. Lundgren, No 17-387, holding that its prior decision in County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Nation, 502...more
When Congress returned after the December break, it needed to reach a spending agreement on government funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2018. Since October 2017, the government had been funded through a series of...more
Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., No. 16-784: Prior to filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Valley View Downs, which sought to operate a racetrack casino in Pennsylvania, transferred $55 million to its...more
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Lewis v. Clarke, a case involving tribal sovereign immunity. The Court held that when a tribal employee is sued in his or her individual capacity, that...more
On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a much anticipated ruling, which may impact the ability of Tribes to rely on sovereign immunity in certain types of tort claims alleged against their employees....more
On April 25, 2017, by unanimous vote (8-0) vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Native American tribe’s sovereign immunity from lawsuits does not extend to a tribal employee sued over actions he took within the scope of...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lewis v. Clarke, (No. 15-1500) addressing the issue of whether the sovereign immunity of an Indian Tribe bars individual-damages actions against tribal employees for torts...more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Lewis v. Clarke. The Supreme Court will resolve a Circuit split about whether the sovereign immunity of an Indian Tribe bars individual-damages actions against tribal...more