Tribal Law/Courts

83 ABA Journal Tribal Law/Courts articles.

Chemerinsky: Supreme Court poised to sharply advance the law to the right

Last year’s term was momentous: The court overruled Roe v. Wade, greatly expanded gun rights and aggressively protected free exercise of religion. There is no doubt that the coming term, too, will be filled with blockbuster decisions.

Sep 29, 2022 9:52 AM CDT

Supreme Court should uphold Indian Child Welfare Act, ABA says in amicus brief

The ABA has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act, writing in an amicus brief filed Thursday that Congress enacted the statute “under valid constitutional authority and on the basis of an extensive body of evidence and law.”

Aug 19, 2022 9:28 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: With Supreme Court shift on Indian law, will it reconsider a recent landmark ruling?

One of the most important themes of the recently completed Supreme Court term is the significance of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. An important example of how this has affected court rulings came in a case in the area of Indian law that, by comparison, received little media attention.

Aug 1, 2022 8:36 AM CDT

SCOTUS limits scope of McGirt, allows Oklahoma to prosecute some crimes on reservations

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Oklahoma has the authority to prosecute crimes by non-Indians against Native Americans on reservations. The decision limits the reach of a prior decision that barred the state from prosecuting tribal members on reservations.

Jun 29, 2022 11:08 AM CDT

America’s Lost Children

When researchers began the painstaking work of identifying Indigenous children who died at the Genoa U.S. Indian Industrial School in Nebraska, they kept making chilling discoveries.

Jun 1, 2022 3:30 AM CDT

Work for Canadian residential school survivors informs lawyer’s debut novel

A lawyer explains how her work informed the writing of her book and why many Indigenous people still feel the impact of the Canadian school system to this day.

May 25, 2022 8:33 AM CDT

Happy the elephant’s quest for personhood heads to top state court; rice and lakes also file suit

New York’s top court will hear the case of Happy the elephant’s bid for personhood and release from the Bronx Zoo in New York City on May 18.

May 13, 2022 10:39 AM CDT

Judging Jurisdiction

In July 2020 when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch read the majority opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Cozzoni sprang into action. In that moment, she knew what would happen next: Scores of major crime cases would be landing in her federal court district in Tulsa, requiring rapid adjustments and recalibration.

Apr 1, 2022 3:45 AM CDT

Biden administration offers recommendations in new report to improve voting access for Native Americans

In a report released Thursday, the Biden administration details the barriers that Native Americans face in the voting process, as well as best practices and recommendations for eliminating those barriers.

Mar 25, 2022 9:59 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Appeals courts rule in lawyer restitution cases; tribes agree to opioid settlement

Ex-BigLaw partner must pay $537M in tax fraud scheme

Paul M. Daugerdas, a former Jenkens & Gilchrist partner, lost an appeal in his tax fraud case before the 2nd U.S.…

Feb 4, 2022 3:15 PM CST

Human rights abuses at boarding schools for Native American children must be examined, ABA House says

Resolution 801 urges organizations and governments to cooperate with the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative and hand over school records to help uncover the truth of what happened at the boarding schools.

Oct 1, 2021 1:10 AM CDT

Oklahoma drops cert request seeking to limit McGirt tribal decision after favorable state court ruling

After a favorable ruling in state court, Oklahoma’s attorney general is withdrawing a cert petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn or limit a decision that upended the state’s criminal justice system.

Sep 7, 2021 2:22 PM CDT

Human rights violations at American Indian boarding schools must be investigated, ABA House says

The ABA House of Delegates voted Monday in favor of a resolution calling for an investigation into human rights abuses at American Indian boarding schools after the president of the Canadian Bar Association appeared in person to support the resolution.

Aug 10, 2021 9:30 AM CDT

Aug. 15, 1876: Congress passes the ‘Sell or Starve’ Act

Despite their historic victory at Little Bighorn in June 1876, the Sioux found little relief from the white onslaught. Accepting defeat, they returned to their reservations—unarmed and newly dependent on government rations. And on Aug. 15, 1876, Congress passed legislation that became known as the “Sell or Starve” Act, halting any aid to the Sioux until they relinquished both their hunting rights and their claim to the Black Hills.

Aug 1, 2021 12:05 AM CDT

Supreme Court tribal decision ‘has upended Oklahoma’s criminal justice system;’ will ruling be curtailed?

Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is grappling with the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year ruling that a large part of eastern central Oklahoma is an American Indian reservation.

Jul 26, 2021 4:16 PM CDT

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