The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided SEC v. Jarkesy. That decision held that individuals subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) enforcement actions in which the SEC seeks civil penalties for...more
In its recent decision, Becerra v. San Carlos Apache, No. 23-250, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C. § 5301 et seq., requires the Indian Health Service...more
For forty years, the Chevron doctrine, established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), has been a cornerstone of administrative law in the United States. Under the...more
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce—overruling the 40-year-old Chevron doctrine. The opinion is likely to set...more
On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the consolidated cases of Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe (No. 23-250) and Becerra v. Northern Arapaho Tribe (No. 23-253)....more
By Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier and Kelsey Haake In a momentous decision on June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a resounding victory for Native American tribes. The Court ruled that the Indian Health Service (IHS)...more
On June 6, 2024, the US Supreme Court decided Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe and Becerra v. Northern Arapaho Tribe (Nos. 23-250 and 23-253), holding that the Indian Health Service (IHS) must reimburse Native nations,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 6, 2024, that the Indian Health Service (IHS) must pay contract support costs with respect to program income – payments from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers – received by tribes...more
When EPA published its most recent rule specifying the role of States and Tribes in the Federal permitting of discharges into Waters of the United States, I predicted it was only a matter of time before we'd see another...more
On Oct. 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to extend the stay ordered in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. It is unclear if any justice supported the request to extend the stay. This means that West...more
On Oct. 12, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay on the District of Columbia Circuit’s ruling in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland. This stay will prevent, for now, the Seminole Tribe of Florida from accepting...more
On June 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court handed down its third decision regarding federal Indian law this term. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the Navajo Treaty of 1868 does not require the United States to...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 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Arizona v. Navajo Nation, No. 21-1484, limiting the federal government’s obligation to affirmatively secure water for federally recognized Indian tribes. The...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
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Arizona v. Navajo Nation, No. 21-1484, holding that the federal government is not obligated to affirmatively secure access to water for the Navajo Nation....more
With four decisions yesterday, the Court has now cut its backlog down to the mid-teens. And with decisions likely today as well, the Court is well on its way to clearing the docket as the term ends....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 early November, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case brought by the Navajo Nation that could have far-reaching impacts on tribal water rights in the Colorado River Basin....more
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING DEALS BLOW TO TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY - In stunning disregard of over 200 years of precedent (dating back to the 1823 landmark case Worcester v. Georgia), on June 29, 2022, via Oklahoma v....more
Deepening a split of circuits, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Bankruptcy Code waived the sovereign immunity of Native American Tribes. The May 6, 2022 opinion by Judge Sandra L. Lynch sided with the Ninth...more
On June 25, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court held that Alaska Native Corporations (“ANCs”), are entitled to COVID-19 relief funds; solidifying that ANCs qualify as tribes. The ruling in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of...more
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision, in Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are “Indian tribes,” as defined by the Indian...more
Like the emergency relief funding provided to state and local governments during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act of 2020 allocated an...more
On June 25, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, holding that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) qualify as “Indian tribes” under the Indian Self-Determination and...more