Walking the Straight and Narrow: Another Squeeze on Tribal Civil Jurisdiction over Nonmembers in Smith v. Salish Kootenai College, 378 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2004)

Authors

Natalie M. Mackiel, University of Nebraska College of LawFollow

Abstract

This Note discusses the issue of tribal court civil jurisdiction over nonmembers, with specific focus on the recent Ninth Circuit case, Smith v. Salish Kootenai College. Part II of the Note describes the evolution of tribal court civil jurisdiction over nonmembers beginning with the early history and tracing the discussion to the Supreme Court’s decision in Nevada v. Hicks. Part III looks specifically at the Ninth Circuit’s recent Smith case as an example of a court’s denial of tribal court jurisdiction effected by haphazard means. This Note criticizes the Ninth Circuit’s dicta in determining that Montana v. United States controls the analysis and suggests that the court should have permitted jurisdiction under the first Montana exception.

Recommended Citation

Natalie M. Mackiel, Walking the Straight and Narrow: Another Squeeze on Tribal Civil Jurisdiction over Nonmembers in Smith v. Salish Kootenai College, 378 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2004), 83 Neb. L. Rev. (2004)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol83/iss4/9