Tribes & FRAP 29

Native Groups Want Equal Footing In Fed. Appellate Courts

Native American rights' groups are urging a federal appellate judicial rules committee to add federally recognized tribes to a list of entities that do not need a court's approval to file an amicus brief, saying the disparity restricts how and when tribal nations gain a voice in lawsuits that impact them.

• "Adding Indian tribes to the list of government entities that Rule 29 exempts from its leave-of-court requirement is reasonable and necessary because cases defining the contours of tribal governmental authority and rights frequently do not include tribes as parties, leaving amicus briefing as the only avenue for those tribes' participation," they said in a Feb. 15 letter to U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates, chair of the rules committee.
• The inclusion of tribes on Rule 29's list of sovereign entities that do not need permission from the court to file is consistent with how other branches of government treat tribes, the groups said in the Feb. 15 letter, adding that Congress has long recognized that tribes have inherent authority on par with states under the Civil Rights Act.