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Oral argument previews:
Prepared by the liibulletin editorial board:
< http://www.law.cornell.edu/bulletin/04board.htm >
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INDIAN LAW, TAXATION, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, REAL PROPERTY
City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation (03-0855)
Oral argument: January 11, 2005
Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In 1997 and 1998, the Oneidas re-purchased title to parcels of
aboriginal land within Sherrill, New York, in open market transactions.
Sherrill subsequently assessed property taxes, which the Oneidas
ignored, asserting that the properties are contained within the Oneida
Indian Reservation and therefore are considered to be "Indian Country",
which is nontaxable by state municipalities. Sherrill sent the Oneidas
notices of tax delinquency, held a tax sale where Sherrill repurchased
the parcels, then initiated eviction proceedings. The U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of New York found in favor of the
Oneidas. On appeal, the Second Circuit affirmed the District Court and
also found that the 1838 Treaty of Buffalo Creek, 7 Stat. 550, did not
require the Oneidas to abandon their lands in the state of New York in
exchange for land in Kansas, and further, that a reservation continues
to exist even if a tribe ceases to exist and is protected under the Non-
Intercourse Act. The Supreme Court must now assess the Second Circuit
Court's interpretations.
< http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/03-855.html >
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JURISDICTION, STATE SECRETS, CIA, ESPIONAGE, LIFETIME FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE
Tenet v. Doe (03-1395)
Oral argument: January 11, 2005
Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
During the Cold War, two Communist bloc diplomats agreed to conduct
espionage for the Cenntral Intelligence Agency in exchange for aid in
defecting to the United States and the CIAs promise of lifetime
financial assistance. The couple, suing under the names John and Jane
Doe, complied with the CIAs requests and eventually the CIA settled
them in the United States, provided them with falsified identities, and
assisted John Doe in finding a job. In 1997, however, John Doe was laid
off because of a corporate merger and was unable to find new work
because of his falsified resume. The CIA refused to provide the Does
with more financial assistance and denied their appeals within the
agency. The Does subsequently sued the CIA in the District Court for the
Western District of Washington. The CIA claimed that under Totten v.
United States, a Civil-War-era Supreme Court case, the district court
did not have jurisdiction over alleged secret contracts for espionage.
The district court concluded that although it did not have jurisdiction
over contract claims, it did have jurisdiction over constitutional and
tort claims arising from the secret agreement between the Does and the
CIA. The Ninth Circuit affirmed. Now the Supreme Court must take another
look at Totten and decide whether or not that case prevents the Does
from suing the CIA for tort and constitutional claims relating to the
CIAs alleged obligations to the Does.
At issue is whether people claiming to have secret agreements to conduct
espionage for the CIA may sue the CIA if the agency fails to follow
through on its obligations under that secret agreement.
< http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/03-1395.html >
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