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Penobscot Nation v. Aaron M. Frey, Attorney General of Maine, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 16-1424, 16-1435, 16-1474, 16-1482 · judgment July 8, 2021

Certiorari denied · April 18, 2022
Pre-decision estimate: 11% cert probability (95% interval 5%–20%)

Before the decision, about 2.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a First Circuit decision below, counsel with five or more prior petitions here, and a petition citing more than ten dissents, and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Question presented

Whether the Maine Indian Settlement Acts— consistent with this Court’s precedents on statutory interpretation and the Indian canons of construction— codify the historical understanding of the Penobscot Nation, the United States, and the State that the Penobscot Reservation encompasses the Main Stem of the Penobscot River. (i)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Pratik Arvind Shah
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP

For respondent
Joshua Dale Dunlap
Pierce Atwood LLP

Case

Subject area
Civil Rights (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Related
Vide, 21-840

Order
Order list, April 18, 2022 · Certiorari denied

Proceedings

  1. Apr 18 2022
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Mar 23 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/14/2022.
  3. Mar 22 2022
    Reply of petitioner Penobscot Nation filed. (Distributed)
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  4. Mar 04 2022
    Brief of respondents Aaron M. Frey, Attorney General of Maine, et al. in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  5. Jan 06 2022
    Waiver of right of respondents Town of East Millinocket; Guilford-Sangerville Sanitary District; Town of Howland; Town of Lincoln; Lincoln Sanitary District; Town of Mattawamkeag; Town of Millinocket; Veazie Sewer District to respond filed.
    Main Document
  6. Jan 06 2022
    Brief amicus curiae of The Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission filed. VIDED.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  7. Jan 06 2022
    Brief amici curiae of Members of the Congressional Native American Caucus filed. VIDED.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  8. Dec 29 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 7, 2022, for all respondents.
  9. Dec 27 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 6, 2022 to March 7, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  10. Dec 22 2021
    Brief amici curiae of National Congress of American Indians and USET Sovereignty Protection Fund filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  11. Dec 03 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 6, 2022)
    PetitionAppendixCertificate of Word CountProof of Service