U.S. Supreme Court prepares for upcoming term

Wednesday, September 26, 2007  

The U.S. Supreme Court began work on its upcoming term on Tuesday by granting one Indian criminal law case and leaving two other Indian law cases on the radar.

The justices agreed to hear an appeal from Larry Begay, a member of the Navajo Nation who is challenging his sentence for pleading guilty to possession of a firearm. At issue is whether he deserves harsher punishment for having a drunk-driving record.

Begay argues that he can't be treated harshly for his prior DUI convictions in New Mexico because drunk driving is not a "violent felony" as defined the Armed Career Criminal Act. The law was designed to punish felons who have a "confirmed history of displaying contempt for human life or safety," the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its decision in the case.

Federal prosecutors say it is "undisputed" that Begay has been convicted of DUI at least 12 times and has been arrested at least 10 times on suspicion of drunk-driving. In regard to the case in question, Begay threatened several members of his family with a firearm "after a night of heavy drinking," according to a brief the Department of Justice filed with the Supreme Court.

The dispute essentially boils down to one word. Begay says the use of the word "otherwise" in a critical section of the law does not encompass drunk-driving as a violent felony, an argument that at least two of the judges on the 10th Circuit appeared to support.

The interpretation of that one word, though, cost Begay several years in prison. Under normal sentencing guidelines, he would be sentenced to 41 to 51 months, according to his lawyer, but under the Armed Career Criminal Act, he was sentenced to 188 months, or 15 years and 8 months.

The justices did not say why they took the case but the 10th Circuit has already cited it as precedent in other criminal matters. In one case, a man in Oklahoma with a prior record of drunk-driving was treated as a career criminal after he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm.

The case, Begay v. US, was considered by the justices during a conference on Monday. The justices also looked at two other cases but did not take action on them yesterday.

The first case is Gros Ventre Tribe v. US. The Gros Ventre Tribe and the Assiniboine Tribe, both based on the Fort Belknap Reservation in Montana, are suing the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service for allegedly violating their trust responsibilities.

At issue is the approval of two cyanide heap-leach gold mines upriver from the reservation. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribes did not prove the government has a "specific duty" to protect the tribes from the effects of a third party operation.

The second case is Catawba Nation v. South Carolina. The tribe wants to operate video lottery machines on its reservation despite a ban on the games in the state constitution.

After a lower court ruled for the tribe, the state Supreme Court reversed. The tribe argues that the state violated its land claim settlement act by revoking approval for video gaming, which was legal when Congress passed the settlement act.

In addition to these two cases, the Supreme Court is awaiting word from the Bush administration about a case involving the Confederated Colville Tribes of Washington. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Canadian company can be held liable for polluting the reservation under the federal Superfund law.

The company, Teck Cominco, hired Ted Olson, a former Bush administration official, to fight the ruling. The Supreme Court has asked the Department of Justice, where Olson used to work, for its views on the case.

The high court's October 2007 term starts October 1.

Begay v. US:
Docket Sheet | Petition | Brief in Opposition | 10th Circuit Opinion

Gros Ventre Tribe v. US:
Docket Sheet | Petition | Brief in Opposition | 9th Circuit Opinion | More Documents from NARF

Catawba Nation v. South Carolina:
Docket Sheet | Petition | Brief in Opposition | Reply | More Documents from NARF

Relevant Links:
Supreme Court - http://www.supremecourtus.gov
NARF-NCAI Tribal Supreme Court Project - http://doc.narf.org/sc/index.html
SCOTUS Blog - http://www.scotusblog.com