2020-2021 Term
Supreme Court Cases Related to Indian Law
Cert Granted
Subject Matter: Criminal Procedure; Indian Civil Rights Act
Questions Presented: Whether the lower courts erred in suppressing evidence on the theory that a police officer of an Indian tribe lacked authority to temporarily detain and search respondent, a non-Indian, on a public right-of-way within a reservation based on a potential violation of state or federal law.
History: Petition was filed on 6/19/20. Petition was granted on 11/20/20. Case was decided on 6/1/21.
Ruling Below: United States v. Cooley, 919 F.3d 1135.
Subject Matter: Reservation disestablishment; Criminal jurisdiction
Questions Presented: Whether the State of Oklahoma has jurisdiction to prosecute a Cherokee Indian whose alleged crime of murder occurred within the historic and treaty-set boundaries of the Cherokee Nation.
History: Petition was filed on 3/16/20. Petition was granted on 10/5/20. Judgment vacated and case remanded for further consideration in light of McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U. S.894 (2020) on 10/5/20 (See GRV Order).
Subject Matter: Eligibility of Alaska Native Corporations to receive COVID-19 relief funds
Question Presented: Whether Alaska Native regional and village corporations established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act are “Indian Tribe[s]” for purposes of the CARES Act, 42 U.S.C. 801(g)(1).
History: Petition was filed on 10/23/20. Petition was granted on 1/8/21 and No. 20-543 was consolidated with No. 20-544 (Alaska Native Village Corporation Association v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation). Case was decided on 6/25/21.
Ruling Below: Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin, 471 F.Supp.3d 1; Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Mnuchin, 976 F.3d 15.
Back to Top
Cert Denied
Subject Matter: Fourth Amendment search
History: Petition was filed on 1/15/21. Petition was denied on 4/19/21.
Ruling Below: Brown v. Polk County, Wisconsin, 965 F.3d 534.
Subject Matter: Indian Gaming Regulatory Act; Indian Reorganization Act
History: Petition was filed on 12/18/20. Petition was denied on 6/21/21.
Ruling Below: Club One Casino, Inc. v. Bernhardt, 959 F.3d 1142.
Subject Matter: Criminal jurisdiction
History: Petition was filed on 11/25/20. Petition was denied on 4/5/21.
Ruling Below: Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. Yakima County, 963 F.3d 982.
Subject Matter: §1983 claims
History: Petition was filed on 4/19/21. Petition was denied on 6/14/21.
Ruling Below: Crossett v. Emmet Cnty., MI, 2020 WL 8969795.
Subject Matter: Tribal Sovereign Immunity
History: Petition was filed on 11/27/20. Petition was denied on 5/17/21.
Ruling Below: Eglise Baptiste Bethanie de Ft. Lauderdale, Inc. v. Seminole Tribe of Florida, 824 Fed.Appx. 680.
Subject Matter: Tribal civil jurisdiction
History: Petition was filed on 3/16/20. Petition was denied on 1/11/21.
Ruling Below: FMC Corporation v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. 942 F.3d 916.
Subject Matter: Indian Health Service contract
History: Petition was filed on 4/14/21. Petition was denied on 6/14/21.
Ruling Below: Gilbert v. Weahkee, 830 Fed.Appx. 496; Gilbert v. Weahkee, 441 F.Supp.3d 799.
Subject Matter: Habeas corpus petition
History: Petition for writ of habeas corpus was filed on 6/17/20. Petition was denied on 10/5/20.
Subject Matter: Fishing Rights – Usual and Accustomed Fishing Places
History: Petition was filed on 8/14/20. Petition was denied on 11/2/20.
Ruling Below: Muckleshoot Indian Tribe v. Tulalip Tribes, 944 F.3d 1179.
Subject Matter: State civil jurisdiction
History: Petition was filed on 2/3/20. Petition was denied on 10/5/20.
Ruling Below: People ex rel. Becerra v. Native Wholesale Supply Co., 37 Cal. App. 5th 73.
Subject Matter: State criminal jurisdiction
History: Petition was filed on 7/27/20. Petition was denied on 10/5/20.
Ruling Below: State of North Carolina v. Nobles, 838 S.E.2d 373.
Subject Matter: Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA)
History: Petition was filed on 2/3/21. Petition was denied on 6/1/21; rehearing was denied on 8/23/21.
Rulings Below: Oxendine-Taylor v. E. Band of Cherokee Indians, 829 F. App'x 672; Oxendine-Taylor v. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 2020 WL 5639307.
Subject Matter: Reservation boundaries and dimishment
History: Petition was filed on 5/28/21. Petition was denied on 6/28/21.
Ruling Below: Oneida Indian Nation v. Phillips, 981 F.3d 157.
Subject Matter: Tribal sovereign immunity; issue preclusion
History: Petition was filed on 4/26/21. Petition was denied on 6/28/21.
Ruling Below: Pierson v. Hudson Ins. Co., 839 Fed.Appx. 102.
Subject Matter: State taxation; Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
History: Petition was filed on 5/14/20. Petition was denied on 10/19/20.
Ruling Below: Video Gaming Techs., Inc. v. Tulsa Cnty. Bd. of Tax Roll Corr., 455 P.3d 918.
Subject Matter: Tribal Sovereign Immunity
History: Petition was filed on 2/17/21. Petition was denied on 6/7/21.
Ruling Below: Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Seneca County, 978 F.3d 829.
Back to Top
