Native American

  • December 12, 2024

    Minnesota Cannabis Authority Nixes Social Equity Lottery

    Minnesota's cannabis regulators are scrapping the special license lottery for social equity applicants, opting to go with a general applicant lottery since a state court put a pause on their original plans.

  • December 11, 2024

    Seminole Tribe Can't Intervene In Gaming Ad Suit, Court Told

    A class action party is objecting to the Seminole Tribe of Florida's proposed intervention in the lawsuit, saying the tribe's interests are adequately protected by vendor Seminole Hard Rock Digital, which has already raised the tribe's defenses in successive motions to dismiss.

  • December 11, 2024

    EPA Gives States, Tribes Clearer Path To Water Permit Power

    States and Native American tribes have a clearer path to gaining the authority to set water pollution standards that may be even stronger than federal ones under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Developer, Feds Ask Justices To Pass On Offshore Wind Case

    The federal government and Vineyard Wind 1 LLC are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a Massachusetts group's latest bid to block the large offshore wind farm taking shape in waters off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

  • December 10, 2024

    Kid Climate Activists Ask Justices To Save Twice-Nixed Case

    Youth plaintiffs have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive their climate change lawsuit against the federal government but said the court should decide a key death penalty case first that involves a similar constitutional question.

  • December 10, 2024

    Utah Counties' Narrow NEPA Test Meets High Court Critics

    Utah counties looking to narrow courts' ability to review federal agencies' environmental analyses of proposed projects hit roadblocks Tuesday from skeptical U.S. Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Department of Justice, who said the proposed limits go too far.

  • December 10, 2024

    Michigan Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Land Trust Order

    A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a decision that rejected its bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture outside Detroit, arguing that if the ruling is left to stand, it will forever impair its ability to achieve economic self-sufficiency.

  • December 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Wary Of Axing Fishing Pact Over Tribe's Objections

    A Sixth Circuit panel gave an icy reception Tuesday to a tribe's request that it unwind a Great Lakes fishing decree because the tribe was excluded from late-stage negotiations and denied a trial on its objections.

  • December 10, 2024

    Tribe Says Feds Cast Aside Calls For Consult On Ore. Casino

    A number of Indigenous communities, along with state and federal lawmakers are calling on the federal government to take a harder look at Oregon's first proposed off-reservation casino project before its final approval, saying requests for tribal consultation on the endeavor have been ignored for more than a decade.

  • December 10, 2024

    Calif. Tribe Can't Vacate Card Check Award, Judge Says

    An arbitration award requiring UNITE HERE and a California tribe that owns a casino to follow a representation process with a card check procedure stands, a federal district court judge ruled, finding the arbitrator's decision was rational.

  • December 10, 2024

    Ohio Justices Reject Opioid Nuisance Claims In $650M Appeal

    The majority of the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the state's product liability law doesn't allow for public nuisance claims to be brought over the opioid crisis, in a challenge to a $650 million verdict won by two counties.

  • December 09, 2024

    Tribal Court Wins Jurisdiction For 4th Time In COVID-19 Suit

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed that Cabazon Reservation Court judges had jurisdiction over the Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians' suit seeking millions in COVID-19 pandemic loss coverage after its casino closed temporarily, despite an insurer's fourth attempt to evade the tribal court. 

  • December 09, 2024

    Biden Proclaims 1st Indian Boarding School A National Monument

    President Joe Biden on Monday issued a proclamation declaring the first Indian boarding school a national monument, saying that giving the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, site the designation will help to ensure that a shameful era of American history is never forgotten or repeated.

  • December 09, 2024

    BNSF Asks 9th Circ. To Upend Tribe's $400M Trespass Win

    BNSF Railway Co. has argued the Ninth Circuit should reverse a lower court's finding that the company owes a Washington tribe nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, saying the "massive penalty" is excessive because it strips away lawfully earned profits.

  • December 09, 2024

    Pressure Growing For Biden To Pardon Native Activist

    As President Joe Biden nears the end of his term, calls to pardon a Native American activist serving a life sentence in the 1975 slayings of two FBI agents are again ramping up, with the chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs asking Biden to "right a historic wrong."

  • December 09, 2024

    Beveridge & Diamond Picks Up Longtime DOJ Enviro Litigator

    Beveridge & Diamond PC has hired the former chief of the law and policy section at the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, who is bringing his more-than 26-year government experience in environmental law to the D.C. team, the firm announced Friday.

  • December 07, 2024

    Up Next: Environmental Reviews, Wire Fraud & TM Awards

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its final set of oral arguments for the 2024 calendar year starting Monday, including disputes over the proper scope of federal environmental reviews and whether corporate affiliates can be ordered to pay disgorgement awards in trademark infringement disputes.

  • December 06, 2024

    Wash. City Says Tribe's ER Shelter Sidesteps Safety Concerns

    The city of Toppenish has told a Washington federal judge that the Yakama Nation has no right to use a local property within reservation boundaries to operate a 24-hour emergency cold weather shelter, arguing that building health and safety issues can't be sidestepped.

  • December 06, 2024

    Neb. Tribe Asks US High Court To Undo Tobacco Sales Ruling

    A Nebraska tribe's tobacco companies are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Eighth Circuit ruling that held the state can regulate a tribally owned manufacturer's sales of cigarettes to Indigenous-owned distributors, arguing that Native American nations' ability to conduct their own affairs within their own borders is at stake.

  • December 06, 2024

    Veterans Courts Help Some, But Leave Many Others Behind

    Veterans treatment courts have helped thousands of justice-involved vets with addiction and mental health issues, but strict eligibility rules, difficulty identifying defendants and a lack of courts mean many former service members are still falling through the cracks.

  • December 06, 2024

    Feds Want Full DC Circ. To Reverse Panel's NEPA Regs Ruling

    Two D.C. Circuit judges who ruled a White House agency lacks authority to issue regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act violated a cornerstone legal tenet and must be overturned, according to the federal government.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    Okla. Court Says Tulsa Can Prosecute Indian Country Crime

    An Oklahoma Criminal Appeals Court will not dismiss a challenge by the city of Tulsa that questions its jurisdictional rights on reservation lands, saying the municipality's ability to prosecute crimes is centered in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said states can prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians on tribal land.

  • December 05, 2024

    Wash. Gov.'s Executive Order Backs Tribal Salmon Initiative

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has, in an executive order, directed state agencies to cooperate with four sovereign tribal nations and Oregon to fulfill commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which aims to protect salmon and steelhead populations.

  • December 05, 2024

    Utah Defends Effort To Wrest Land From Feds At High Court

    Utah told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that its proposed lawsuit accusing the government of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state belongs before the justices and that the government's recent response strengthens its case.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • 2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Impact On Indian Law May Be Muted

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    Agency interpretations of Indian law statutes that previously stood the test of judicial review ​are likely to withstand new challenges even after the end of Chevron deference, but litigation in the area is all but certain, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • 2nd Circ. ERISA Ruling May Help Fight Unfair Arb. Clauses

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    The Second Circuit recently held that a plaintiff seeking planwide relief under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act cannot be compelled to individual arbitration, a decision that opens the door to new applications of the effective vindication doctrine to defeat onerous and one-sided arbitration clauses, say Raphael Janove and Liana Vitale at Janove.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • After Chevron

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    Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift

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    It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

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