Justia Native American Law Opinion Summaries

Twin infants who are eligible for tribal membership were placed in emergency foster care with licensed, non-tribal foster parents after being born with serious medical issues. The county obtained temporary legal custody of the children through a Child in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS) proceeding, and the children were eventually moved from the foster parents’ home to the home of maternal relatives who are members of the same tribe as the children. The foster parents, after learning of the planned move, sought to intervene permissively in the CHIPS case, filed a third-party custody petition, and moved to stay the placement change, arguing in part that tribal placement preference statutes were unconstitutional.The Minnesota District Court denied the foster parents’ motions to intervene and for a stay, and dismissed the third-party custody petition without considering their constitutional arguments. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. It directed the district court to reconsider intervention and third-party custody, and addressed the constitutionality of the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), finding it constitutional. On remand, the district court again denied intervention and dismissed the third-party custody petition, concluding the foster parents were not proper parties and could not file such petitions in the ongoing CHIPS proceeding.The Minnesota Supreme Court consolidated the appeals. It held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying permissive intervention, as such intervention was not in the children’s best interests. The court also held that a third-party custody petition is not available in juvenile court CHIPS proceedings and may only be brought as a petition to transfer custody by a party to the action. Because the foster parents were not parties, the court declined to address their constitutional challenges to ICWA and MIFPA, and vacated the Court of Appeals’ discussion of those constitutional issues. The court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings. View "In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of: L.K." on Justia Law

A federally recognized tribe, which operates casinos under a tribal-state compact allowing video games of chance, objected when the Minnesota Racing Commission approved a 2023 amendment to a racetrack’s card club plan. This amendment allowed Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack to add an additional dealer table and 11 player stations featuring electronic table games. These electronic games use a live dealer and transmit images of physical cards to player stations, where patrons interact via video screens. Minnesota law limits commercial operation of such gambling devices and video games of chance to tribes and restricts the number of card tables at racetrack card clubs. The tribe argued that the Commission’s approval constituted an unlawful expansion of gambling, infringing upon its statutorily protected competitive environment.After the Racing Commission approved Running Aces’s request, the tribe petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals for review. The tribe contended that the Commission erred by permitting racetracks to operate devices reserved for tribes, by exceeding the statutory table limit, and by applying an unpromulgated rule. The Racing Commission and Running Aces challenged the tribe’s standing. The Minnesota Court of Appeals concluded that the tribe had standing due to its legally protected market-restricted interest, but rejected its arguments on the merits, affirming the Commission’s decision.On further appeal, the Minnesota Supreme Court reviewed the issue of standing de novo and held that the tribe does have standing to challenge the Commission’s decision, as the statutory scheme creates a competition-restricted environment protecting the tribe’s interest in operating video games of chance. However, because the Supreme Court was evenly divided on the merits of the tribe’s challenge to the Commission’s decision, it affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision without expressing an opinion on those merits. View "In the Matter of the Minnesota Racing Commission's Approval of Running Aces Casino, Hotel & Racetrack's Request to Amend its Plan of Operation" on Justia Law

In a proceeding to terminate parental rights that is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), qualified expert witness testimony is required to support the determination that continued custody of the child by the parent is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child.The district court terminated the parental rights of Mother and Father, concluding that ICWA and MIFPA applied to the proceedings and that the laws’ requirements had been satisfied. The court of appeals reversed in part, holding that the district court erred in failing expressly to find under ICWA and MIFPA that continued custody of the child by the parent was likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child. On appeal, the district court stated as much in a one-sentence addendum to its findings of fact and conclusions of law. The court of appeals affirmed the district court’s termination decision. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the district court erred in terminating Father’s parental rights because the qualified expert witness’s testimony did not support the court’s determination that continued custody of the children by Father would likely result in serious damage to the children. View "In re Welfare of Children of S.R.K. & O.A.K." on Justia Law