"First, the SG lost yet another case while acting as tribal trustee. The trust responsibility is in real trouble, despite the Court’s surprising affirmation of Ramah. The Supreme Court does not appear to defer in any way to the OSG and especially the Department of Interior in the Indian cases, as I have said before.

Second, a majority of the Supreme Court appears to care nothing about the destabilizing consequences of their decisions. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent laid it all out for the rest of the Court. It’s not like the statutory construction of the Quiet Title Act and the Administrative Procedures Act was inevitable. This was not a plain language decision, but an interpretation. The Court chose this route over others.

Third, the Supreme Court once again has directly challenged Congress on Indian affairs. How many times has the Court said in the last 25 years, we’ve made our decision, now let Congress fix it if they don’t like it. So far, with the exception of the Duro fix, Congress hasn’t fixed anything. As I said before the SCIA a few weeks ago, Congress needs to step up and take charge of Indian affairs. Right now, the Supreme Court calls the shots."

Get the Story:
Quick and Dirty Commentary on Patchak (Turtle Talk 6/18)

Supreme Court Decision:
Salazar v. Patchak (June 18, 2012)

Oral Argument Transcript:
Salazar v. Patchak (April 23, 2012)

DC Circuit Decision:
Patchak v. Salazar (January 21, 2011)

Related Stories:
Gun Lake Tribe: Business as usual despite Supreme Court ruling (6/18)