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Curtiss Wilson v. Horton's Towing, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 16-35320 · judgment October 9, 2018

Certiorari denied · April 22, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Does an Indian Tribe have authority under the second exception of Montana v. United States, 450 U.S. 544 (1981), to forfeit automobiles owned by non Native Americans for violation of tribal drug laws while on tribal land?

  2. If so, does the Tribe have authority to seize a motor vehicle off reservation if it has probable cause to believe that the automobile previously contained illegal drugs while on tribal lands?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
William Joseph Johnston

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Apr 22 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 02 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/18/2019.
  3. Mar 25 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
  4. Mar 20 2019
    Waiver of right of respondent Horton's Towing to respond filed.
  5. Feb 14 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 25, 2019)