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Tribal Court Comity

Tribal Court Comity

One of the cornerstones of real property law is that, typically, state courts have the exclusive power or jurisdiction to determine the rights of competing parties to lands situated within that state. Occasionally, the courts of one state will be presented with claims or issues related to land that is in a foreign state
Insights From In-House and Interior: Top 10 Lessons From My 10 Years of Experience

Insights From In-House and Interior: Top 10 Lessons From My 10 Years of Experience

For the past 10 years, I have had the distinct honor to serve as both attorney general for my tribe, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, and the deputy solicitor for Indian Affairs in the Office of the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). I sometimes learned these lessons the hard way and wish that I had learned them before I embarked on each of these professional journeys.
Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny

Comparing and contrasting the status of U.S. Overseas Territories and Indian tribes bring about profound legal questions. The subject is currently particularly ripe for discussion. On Jan. 15, 2015, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee reorganized Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs into a single subcommittee, demonstrating some recognition of a relationship between these issues.

The Obama Administration and Indian Law

The historic words “I am President Barack Black Eagle” resonated throughout Indian Country.1 Never had a president of the United States embraced the trust relationship in such a bold manner. Yet, from his initial 2008 visit to the Crow Nation in Montana, then-candidate Sen. Barack Obama understood the power of the pulpit and imagery.
New Approaches to Energy Development in Indian Country

New Approaches to Energy Development in Indian Country

The challenging and often conflicting forces of history, precedent, colonization, self-determination, and the federal government’s trust responsibility to Indian tribes make for many crossroads within the field of federal Indian law. Scholars and practitioners have struggled with a number of these intersections, including animal law in Indian Country, the ongoing viability of precedent, protection of tribal sacred sites, and tribal–state relations.
The Guiding Hand Of Counsel

The Guiding Hand Of Counsel

On Aug. 1, 2013, an 18-year-old woman calmly walked into a local drug store, made her way over to aisle two, picked up two cans of baby formula, placed them in a large diaper bag, and quietly walked out without paying for them. Outside, an undercover police officer who had watched her every move patiently waited for her to come through the sliding doors to arrest her.

Federal Rules Update: December 2015

On Dec. 1, 2015, several amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure took effect, including important changes to the rules governing discovery practice. This memorandum sets out an overview of the key amendments.