Washington, D.C. – A team led by Rudy E. Verner, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court last week, and asked the Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling which denies the leaders of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation the protections of sovereign immunity traditionally enjoyed by Indian tribes. If allowed to stand, the petition argues, the decision could erode the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity and open a Pandora’s box of private lawsuits challenging actions that are essential to tribal self-governance. The Court is expected to rule on the Tribe’s request within two months.
Rudy E. Verner is a member of Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti’s Appellate and Federal Indian Law practice groups