Supreme Court Ruling Confirms Tribal Inherent Authority and Makes Tribal Communities Safer
By Dorothy Alther, CILS Executive Director On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, issued its ruling in U.S. v. Cooley finding that tribes have inherent authority to stop non-Indians on a right-of-way within the boundaries of an Indian reservation who are suspected of committing a state or federal crime. Once stopped, […]
Historical Perspective: CILS’ Protection of Tribal Fishing Rights
By Jay Petersen, CILS Sacramento office Senior Staff Attorney Over the years, CILS has played an important role in protecting Tribal fishing rights against large-scale irrigation, hydroelectric power, and surface water storage needs. In the 1980’s, California and the United States mounted numerous prosecutions against Tribal members fishing in the Klamath River under the pretext […]
California Stimulus Check
By Ryan Buuck, LMU Loyola Law School, J.D./M.B.A. Dual Degree Candidate Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new economic recovery package that will include $12 billion of direct payments to residents of the State of California. These payments will be like the three stimulus checks sent by the federal government during the CoVID-19 Pandemic. […]
AB 1869 – Eliminating Criminal Adminstrative Fees
This bill repeals the authority to collect many of these fees, among others. The bill makes the unpaid balance of these court-imposed costs unenforceable and uncollectible and requires any portion of a judgment imposing those costs to be vacated. If you qualify or have questions contact any CILS office nearest to you.
Native American Ancestry: Family Lore, Oral Swabs, and Enrollment Cards
By Mark Vezzola, CILS Escondido office Directing Attorney Have you ever heard someone claim their great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess? Or that their ancestors include the Lakota holy man Sitting Bull? Until recently, most of what people knew about their family history came from older relatives, maybe even old photos and letters. Today, anyone […]
CILS Brackeen News Flash
On April 6, 2021, an en banc panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal decided Brackeen v. Haaland, a case challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Read the full decision here. The good news is (1) this decision does not apply in California nor in any state in the […]
