2022-2023 Term
Supreme Court Cases Related to Indian Law
Cert Granted
Subject Matter: Breach of Trust and Water Rights
Questions Presented: I. Does the Ninth Circuit Opinion, allowing the Nation to proceed with a claim to enjoin the Secretary to develop a plan to meet the Nation's water needs and manage the mainstream of the LBCR so as not to interfere with that plan, infringe upon this Court's retained and exclusive jurisdiction over the allocation of water from the LBCR mainstream in Arizona v. California? II. Can the Nation state a cognizable claim for breach of trust consistent with this Court's holding in Jicarilla based solely on unquantified implied rights to water under the Winters Doctrine?
History: Petition was filed on 4/17/22. Petition was granted on 11/4/2022, consolidated with No. 22-51 (Department of the Interior v. Navajo Nation). Case was decided on 6/22/23.
Rulings Below: Navajo Nation v. Department of the Interior.996 F.3d 623. Navajo Nation v. Department of the Interior. 26 F.4th 794.
Subject Matter: Indian Child Welfare Act
Questions Presented: 1. Whether various provisions of ICWA-namely, the minimum standards of Section 1912(a), (d), (e), and (f); the placement-preference provisions of Section 1915(a) and (b); and the recordkeeping provisions of Sections 1915(e) and 1951(a)-violate the anticommandeering doctrine of the Tenth Amendment. 2. Whether the individual plaintiffs have Article III standing to challenge ICWA’s placement preferences for "other Indian families," 25 U.S.C. 1915(a)(3), and for "Indian foster home[s]," 25 U.S.C. 1915(b)(iii). 3. Whether Section 1915(a)(3) and (b)(iii) are rationally related to legitimate governmental interests and therefore consistent with equal protection.
History: Petition was filed on 9/3/21. Petition was granted on 2/28/22. The petitions for certiorari in No. 21-376; No. 21-377 (Cherokee Nation v. Brackeen); No. 21-378 (Texas v. Haaland); and No. 21-380 (Brackeen v. Haaland) were consolidated, and activity in the cases is reflected on the docket of No. 21-376. Case was decided on 6/15/23.
Ruling Below: Brackeen v. Bernhardt. 937 F.3d 406. Additional lower court materials are available at the TSCP website.
Subject Matter: Tribal sovereign immunity from suit under the Bankruptcy Code
Question Presented: Whether the Bankruptcy Code expresses unequivocally Congress's intent to abrogate the sovereign immunity of Indian tribes.
History: Petition was filed on 9/12/22. Petition was granted 1/13/23. Case was decided on 6/15/23.
Ruling Below: Coughlin v. Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. 33 F.4th 600.
Subject Matter: State criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in Indian country
History: Petition was filed on 3/2/22. Petition was granted on 10/3/22. Judgment vacated and and case remanded for further consideration in light of Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (See GVR Order).
Ruling Below: Sims v. State, 2021 WL 9544907.
Back to Top
Cert Denied
Subject Matter: Tribal official personal immunity from suit
History: Petition was filed on 5/20/22. Petition was denied on 10/3/22.
Ruling Below: Acres v. Marston, 72.Cal.App.5th 417.
Subject Matter: Tribal court exhaustion and jurisdiction; tribal sovereign immunity from suit
History: Petition was filed on 4/6/22. Petition was denied on 10/3/22.
Ruling Below: Becker v. Ute Indian Tribe, 7 F.4th 945.
Subject Matter: Tribal regulatory and adjudicatory jurisdiction over non-Indian entity
History: Petition was filed on 7/19/22. Petition was denied on 12/12/22.
Ruling Below: Big Horn Co. Electric Cooperative v. Big Man, 2022 WL 738623.
Subject Matter: State court transfer of child custody proceeding to tribal court
History: Petition was filed on 3/30/22. Petition was denied on 6/26/23.
Ruling Below: Matter of Welfare of Child of F.J.V., 2021 WL 4944677.
Subject Matter: Tribal sovereign immunity from suit in tort actions
History: Petition was filed on 6/7/22. Petition was denied on 10/3/22.
Ruling Below: Lopez v. Quaempts, 2022 WL 5561997.
Subject Matter: Equitable estoppel against the federal government as trustee for Indian lands; Trust status of allotted land at the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
History: Petition was filed on 6/7/22. Petition was denied on 10/3/22.
Ruling Below: Grondal v. United States, 21 F.4th 1140.
Subject Matter: Determination of Indian under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1153
History: Petition was filed on 2/4/22. Petition was denied on 10/11/22.
Subject Matter: Determination of Indian under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1153
History: Petition was filed on 2/25/22. Petition was denied on 10/11/22.
Ruling Below: Wadkins v. State, 504 P.3d 605.
Subject Matter: Federal prosecution of an Indian for a crime in Indian country under state law
History: Petition was filed on 2/16/23. Petition was denied on 3/20/23.
Related Proceedings: United States v. Smith, 2022 WL 3102454 and United States v. Smith, 925 F.3d 410.
Subject Matter: Article III standing and right the right of non-parties to appeal
History: Petition was filed on 1/10/23. Petition was denied on 3/20/23.
Ruling Below: Spokane Indian Tribe v. Sulgrove, 2022 WL 3083310.
Back to Top
