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Arizona, et al. v. Navajo Nation, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 19-17088 · judgment February 17, 2022
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Ninth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.
Question presented
Consolidated with 22-51. The Consolidated Decree in Arizona v. California, 547 U.S. 150 (2006), apportions the mainstream of the Colorado River in the Lower Basin ("LBCR") among three States, decrees rights to the LBCR for five Indian Reservations (but not the Navajo reservation) and various other entities, and prescribes how the Secretary of the Interior ("Secretary") shall operate the mainstream dams in satisfaction of the decreed rights and water delivery contracts entered under the Boulder Canyon Project Act ("BCPA''). The Court retained exclusive jurisdiction "for the purpose of any order, direction, or modification of the decree, or any supplementary decree, that may at any time be deemed proper in relation to the subject matter in controversy." Id. at 166-67 (emphasis added). The United States "assumes Indian trust responsibilities only to the extent it expressly accepts those responsibilities by statute," treaty, or regulation. U.S. v. Jicarilla Apache Nation, 564 U.S. 162, 176-77 (2011). The federal treaties with the Navajo Nation ("Nation") do not require the Secretary to develop a plan to secure water for the Nation; and they do not address water at all. The doctrine of implied rights to water in Winters v. United States, 426 U.S. 207 (1908) ("Winters Doctrine") cannot justify imposing such a fiduciary duty on the Secretary. The questions presented are: I. Does the Ninth Circuit Opinion, allowing the Nation to proceed with a claim to enjoin the Secretary to develop a plan to meet the Nation's water needs and manage the mainstream of the LBCR so as not to interfere with that plan, infringe upon this Court's retained and exclusive jurisdiction over the allocation of water from the LBCR mainstream in Arizona v. California? II. Can the Nation state a cognizable claim for breach of trust consistent with this Court's holding in Jicarilla based solely on unquantified implied rights to water under the Winters Doctrine?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Rita Pearson Maguire
Rita P. Maguire, Attorney at Law, PLLC
For respondent
Shay Dvoretzky
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
11 merits
(2 supporting pet./neither, 9 respondent)
Related
Vide, 22-51
Argument & decision
Argued March 20, 2023 — Frederick Liu · Rita P. Maguire · Shay Dvoretzky. Audio and transcript
Decided June 22, 2023. Opinion by Kavanaugh.
Proceedings
- Jul 24 2023Judgment issued.
- Jun 22 2023Judgment REVERSED. Kavanaugh, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Alito, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion. Gorsuch, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, JJ., joined. VIDED.
- Apr 07 2023Letter filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Mar 20 2023Argued. For federal parties: Frederick Liu, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For state parties: Rita P. Maguire, Phoenix, Ariz. For Navajo Nation: Shay Dvoretzky, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
- Mar 17 2023Motion for divided argument filed by the Solicitor General GRANTED. VIDED.
- Mar 03 2023Reply of Arizona, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Mar 03 2023Reply of Colorado filed (as to 21-1484). (Distributed)
- Mar 03 2023Reply of Federal Parties filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 10 2023CIRCULATED
- Feb 08 2023Amicus brief of Coalition of Large Tribes not accepted for filing. (February 09, 2023 - corrected efiling to be submitted).
- Feb 08 2023Brief amicus curiae of Coalition of Large Tribes filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Historians filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Prof. Daniel McCool, Prof. Ezra Rosser, and Prof. David Wilkins filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amicus curiae of Diné Hataalii Association, Inc. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Tribal Nations and Indian Organizations filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of Lawrence J. MacDonnell, et. al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 08 2023Brief amici curiae of DigDeep Right to Water Project, et al. filed (Feb.14, 2023). VIDED. (Distributed)
- Feb 07 2023Motion for divided argument filed by the Solicitor General. VIDED.
- Feb 03 2023Record requested from the U.S.C.A. for the Ninth Circuit. VIDED.
- Feb 03 2023All records from the USCA-9th Circuit are available on PACER. Sealed records from the USDC-Arizona were transmitted electronically.
- Feb 01 2023Brief of respondent Navajo Nation filed. VIDED
- Jan 31 2023SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, March 20, 2023. VIDED.
- Jan 03 2023Motion to extend the time to file the brief on the merits of respondent Navajo Nation is granted and the time is extended to and including February 1, 2023. VIDED.
- Dec 28 2022Motion of respondent Navajo Nation for an extension of time filed. VIDED.
- Dec 27 2022Brief amici curiae of Western Water Users and Trade Associations filed. VIDED.
- Dec 27 2022Brief amicus curiae of Citizens Equal Rights Foundation in support of neither party (also in 22-51) filed. VIDED.
- Dec 19 2022Brief of the Federal Parties filed. VIDED.
- Dec 19 2022Joint appendix filed. VIDED. (Statement of cost filed.)
- Dec 19 2022Brief of Colorado filed (as to 21-1484).
- Dec 19 2022Brief of Arizona, et al. filed. VIDED.
- Nov 04 2022Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 22-51 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
- Nov 04 2022Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 21-1484. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 21-1484. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
- Oct 31 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/4/2022.
- Oct 12 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/28/2022.
- Oct 07 2022Reply of petitioners Arizona, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 23 2022Brief of respondent Navajo Nation in opposition filed.
- Jul 22 2022The motion of the Navajo Nation is granted and the time to file a response is extended to and including September 23, 2022.
- Jul 21 2022Motion of the Navajo Nation seeking an extension of time to file a response from July 25, 2022 to September 23, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 15 2022Memorandum of respondents Department of the Interior, et al. filed.
- Jun 23 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 25, 2022.
- Jun 21 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 24, 2022 to July 25, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jun 17 2022Waiver of right of respondent Arizona Power Authority to respond filed.
- Jun 16 2022Waiver of right of respondent Navajo Nation to respond filed.
- May 17 2022Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 24, 2022)