Native American

  • February 23, 2024

    SD Bill To Expand Native Voting Rights Put Off To Next Session

    A South Dakota bill aimed at expanding and protecting the voting rights of Native Americans was tabled on Friday when state lawmakers ran out of time to consider the legislation with questions lingering on how to craft its language to ensure compliance with state and federal voting rights laws.

  • February 23, 2024

    Wildlife, Paddling Groups Want To Join Clean Water Act Fight

    The National Wildlife Federation and American Whitewater are asking a Louisiana federal judge to let them join litigation over an updated Clean Water Act rule that expanded states' and tribes' ability to block projects such as pipelines and dams over water quality concerns, to ensure their interests are considered.

  • February 23, 2024

    Tribal Biz Atty Must Meet Calif. DA Over Greenhouse Wreckage

    A California federal judge has ordered the lawyer for a business owned by a tribal conglomerate to attend a hearing with San Bernardino County's district attorney, saying the lawyer must explain why he forced the DA to file a unilateral status report about the destruction of illegal cannabis greenhouses.

  • February 23, 2024

    Enviro Orgs. Target Sequoia Forest Restoration Projects

    Several conservation groups are asking a California federal judge to overturn U.S. Forest Service approvals for two post-fire forest restoration projects on parts of the Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest, claiming they risk harming the sensitive landscapes and making matters worse.

  • February 23, 2024

    Alaska Judge Won't Disturb Oil, Gas Lease Moratorium Order

    An Alaska federal judge rejected bids by the state's development authority to amend or vacate an order upholding a temporary moratorium the Biden administration imposed on an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain oil and gas program, holding that the case isn't moot after the government canceled its leases.

  • February 22, 2024

    Wash. Tribe Awarded Land Comp Funds After 50-Year Battle

    In a decision the Chinook Indian Nation on Thursday called groundbreaking for other Indigenous communities, the federal government determined that the tribe will receive more than $48,000 from an Indian Claims Commission judgment handed down half a century ago as compensation for the seizure of the tribe's ancestral lands.

  • February 22, 2024

    EPA Puts $5.8B On Tap For Water Infrastructure Projects

    The Biden administration said it's making $5.8 billion available to help pay for water projects around the U.S., steering millions of dollars to states and territories to help overhaul drinking water infrastructure, and wastewater and stormwater systems.

  • February 22, 2024

    Tribal Co., Minn. Agree To Settle Interest Rate Overcharge Row

    Minnesota officials and Montana's Fort Belknap Indian Community have agreed to settle claims that the tribe's economic development corporation engaged in predatory lending practices by charging interest rates up to 800% on loans to thousands of state residents.

  • February 22, 2024

    San Antonio Can Scare Off Park Birds For Now, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit said San Antonio, Texas, can move ahead with its bird deterrence program at a park where Native American church members claim the city is violating their religious rights by pursuing renovation plans that will harm a sacred area's spiritual ecology by removing trees and driving off nesting cormorants.

  • February 22, 2024

    Sports & Betting Group Of The Year: Jenner & Block

    Jenner & Block LLP helps its clients navigate critical moments, including guiding Caesars to victory over a change-skimming lawsuit and engineering a multibillion-dollar sports betting arbitration win for Fox FSG Services in a spat with FanDuel, earning the firm a spot among Law360's 2023 Sports & Betting Groups of the Year.

  • February 21, 2024

    Tribes Say Oil Co. Must Face Tribal Court In $12M Award Fight

    Two Native American tribes have asked a Wyoming district court to block a bid by Merit Energy attempting to stop them from using their tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award, saying the company has not yet exhausted all tribal remedies.

  • February 21, 2024

    Alaska Tribes Seek Rights Declaration Over BC Gold Mines

    A consortium of southeast Alaska tribes is asking the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to hold an investigative hearing and declare that Canada is violating their human rights by considering and approving mines that threaten to pollute cross-border rivers and harm vital salmon fisheries without seeking the tribes' input or consent.

  • February 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Says Federal Coal Lease Ban Case 'Is Moot'

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday vacated and remanded a district court's ruling that had reinstated a 2016 moratorium on federal coal leasing, with a recommendation that the litigation be dismissed as moot, saying there's no basis to conclude that a challenge to a defunct order is still alive.

  • February 21, 2024

    BIA Must Litigate Mont. Tribes' Trimmed Police Funding Suit

    A federal district judge partially dismissed claims in a lawsuit filed by two Montana tribes seeking to gain $3.8 million in additional police funding for their communities after they alleged the U.S. Department of the Interior kept their law enforcement budget at nearly the same level it was 25 years ago.

  • February 21, 2024

    Tribes, Mich., Feds Refute Great Lakes Fishing Challenge

    Several Native American tribes, the state of Michigan and the federal government have urged the Sixth Circuit to reject a sport fishing group's attempt to sink a tribal fishing pact for parts of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, arguing it strikes an appropriate balance between respecting tribal fishing rights and protecting the Great Lakes fisheries.

  • February 21, 2024

    Ga. Urges Judge To Reject DOJ Bid To Join Voting Rights Suit

    Georgia officials want a Peach State federal court to reject the Biden administration's delayed attempt to join a lawsuit alleging a recent state election law discriminates against Black voters, arguing the move is driven by the government's concern about losing its own challenge to the state's voting rules.

  • February 21, 2024

    FCC Considers Adding Missing Persons To Emergency Alerts

    The Federal Communications Commission plans to introduce a new code to the Emergency Alert System to allow information about missing or endangered persons to be widely disseminated.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fond Du Lac Tribe Seeks Sanctions In Mining Land Suit

    The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has asked a Minnesota federal judge to sanction PolyMet Mining Inc. in the tribe's suit over a land swap for a copper and nickel mine, arguing that the company and its lawyers are obstructing the discovery process.

  • February 20, 2024

    Groups, Scholars Back Tribes In High Court Healthcare Bid

    A coalition of Native American and Alaskan Native healthcare boards and nonprofits are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold rulings that ordered the federal government to reimburse two tribes millions in administrative healthcare costs, arguing that the obligation is deeply rooted in the trust relationship between the United States and its Indigenous nations.

  • February 20, 2024

    Calif. Tribe Looks To Undo Tobacco Noncompliance Listing

    The Twenty-Nine Palms of Mission Indians is suing the U.S. government in California federal court over its decision to place the tribe on a "non-compliant list" under a law that targets illegal tobacco trafficking, arguing that its operations comply with all applicable state laws.

  • February 20, 2024

    Fla. Gaming Pact Not Allowed Under Federal Law, Expert Says

    A Miami law school adjunct professor supporting a pair of casinos seeking to undo the Seminole Tribe of Florida's gaming agreement authorizing online sports betting has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the establishments' case or reverse a lower court decision, saying the pact violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

  • February 20, 2024

    Tribes, Enviro Orgs Can Join Fight Over Tongass Protections

    An Alaska federal judge said a coalition of tribes, conservation groups, fishers and tourism businesses can join litigation to help defend a challenged Biden administration rule that reinstated roadless area protections for some 9 million acres of the vast Tongass National Forest.

  • February 16, 2024

    DOI Announces Final Rule On Class III Indian Gaming

    The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday announced its final rule on changes to Class III Indian gaming compacts, updating the federal regulation to provide better guidance and transparency for tribes and states to negotiate those agreements under the Indian Gaming and Regulatory Act.

  • February 16, 2024

    Hydro Co. Must Alter, Not Remove, Dam That's Killing Salmon

    A Washington federal judge on Friday said a hydroelectric company must remove part of a rock dam structure killing endangered wild salmon, but the judge declined to order complete removal, saying it went beyond a narrowly tailored remedy zeroing in on what is harming fish.

  • February 16, 2024

    FCC Offers Incentives So Small Carriers Can Use Spectrum

    The Federal Communications Commission's new program to encourage spectrum licensees to divvy up their unused airwaves for sublease to smaller and more rural carriers is now up and running and accepting applications.

Expert Analysis

  • Perspectives

    A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

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    Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Assessing EPA's Potential Retreat On Title VI Enforcement

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to close its Title VI investigation of Louisiana — rather than respond to the state's litigation challenge against it — raises questions about the efficacy of the agency's plans to use Title VI in support of its environmental justice initiatives, say Susan Richardson and Jeffrey Davidson at Kilpatrick Townsend.

  • High Court's Tribal Water Rights Ruling Steadies The Boat

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Arizona v. Navajo Nation — concerning the federal government's obligations to help secure tribal access to water — overturns a Ninth Circuit decision that could have undermined existing state adjudication processes and unleashed a wave of tribal water rights claims, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • Why Seminole Tribe Sports Betting Ruling Is A Net Positive

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    The D.C. Circuit Court’s recent ruling that a gambling compact between Florida and the Seminole Tribe is lawful even though it allows for online sports betting expands the tribe's offerings while maintaining exclusivity and is a win for individuals who wish to legally wager on sports within Florida, says Daniel McGinn at Dean Mead.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

  • Opinion

    The Case For Seating The Cherokee Nation's Delegate

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    The U.S. government should follow through on its obligation to seat a delegate from the Cherokee Nation in the U.S. House of Representatives, as explicitly promised in a treaty ratified nearly 200 years ago, says Jack Baker at the National Trail of Tears Association.

  • Sackett Ruling, 'Waters' Rule Fix Won't Dry Up Wetlands Suits

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency narrowing the scope of Clean Water Act protections, the Biden administration is amending its rule defining "waters of the United States" — but the revised rule will inevitably face further court challenges, continuing the WOTUS legal saga indefinitely, say attorneys at Milbank.

  • Bid Protest Spotlight: Errors, Experience, Corrective Action

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    In this month's bid protest spotlight, Krista Nunez at MoFo looks at three recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office considering the resolution of proposal inconsistencies through clarifications, the importance of reading solicitations in full and the scope of an agency’s corrective action.

  • Minn. Mine Denial Stresses Importance Of Tribal Partnerships

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    The Army Corps of Engineers' decision to revoke a suspended Clean Water Act permit for a proposed mine in Minnesota is a reminder that project developers need to take tribal authority and rights seriously and consider early and frequent consultation with tribes, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Level Up Lawyers' Business Development With Gamification

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    With employee engagement at a 10-year low in the U.S., there are several gamification techniques marketing and business development teams at law firms can use to make generating new clients and matters more appealing to lawyers, says Heather McCullough at Society 54.

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