July 03, 2019
The U.S. Supreme Court handed close wins this year to two Native American tribes, backing their rights to be shielded from a state fuel tax and to hunt under their treaties, while circuit courts protected tribe members' access to broadband and heightened tribal officers' exposure to tort suits. Here, Law360 looks back at some of the top decisions in Native American law in the first half of 2019.
March 20, 2019
The U.S. Supreme Court bolstered the Yakama Nation's rights Tuesday when it ruled that a tribal company is shielded from a Washington state fuel tax by the Yakamas' federal treaty, but Justice Neil Gorsuch's robust concurrence could prove of greater long-term consequence as it shows the justice poised to become a swing vote in tribal cases.
March 19, 2019
Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether a Native American company should be required to pay a Washington state fuel tax featured a rare agreement between justices who have often locked horns, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ditching her liberal colleagues and joining a concurrence by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
March 19, 2019
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a Washington state court ruling that a Yakama Nation company does not have to pay a state fuel tax, saying the tribe's right to travel on public highways under its treaty makes the company exempt from the tax.
January 01, 2019
In the new year, Native American law practitioners will be keeping an eye on upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding Washington's ability to tax the Yakama Nation; treaty hunting rights in Wyoming; and the balance of tribal, federal and state criminal jurisdiction in Oklahoma. Here, Law360 takes a look at the cases attorneys who practice Native American law will be watching in the coming year.
November 02, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court weighed whether a Yakama Nation company should be subject to a Washington state fuel tax during oral arguments over the past week, and attorneys say the tribe's chances for success hinge on the court's apparent willingness to endorse a strong tribal treaty right to conduct business using off-reservation highways.
October 18, 2018
The Washington State Department of Licensing told the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a state Supreme Court ruling in favor of a tribal fuel distributor, saying a fuel tax does not violate the Yakama Nation's right to travel on public highways and the company read a tribal treaty right too broadly while mischaracterizing state law.