"Heading into the sixth year of the Roberts Court, we note first that the last Term (2009) was the second Roberts Court Term that did not feature a single Indian law case. In the first five years of the Court, there have been only 5 Indian law decisions — all losses for Indian Country.

However, the upcoming Term features one case already, and several others that are likely to be granted. Note the general trends in Indian law cases in the Supreme Court petition stage: (1) the United States’ petitions are granted about 2/3 of the time, or more; (2) petitions by states and their subdivisions are granted about 1/3 of the time; (3) petitions by tribes are almost never granted. And even the OSG’s influence wanes when supporting tribal interests.

1. United States v. Tohono O’odham Nation (09-846)

2. Hogan v. Kaltag Tribal Council (09-960)

3. Madison County v. Oneida Indian Nation (10-72)

4. Gould v. Cayuga Indian Nation (10-206)

5. United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation (no docket number)"

Get the Story:
Early Preview of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Term (Turtle Talk 8/30)