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July 28, 2014: People of California v. Miami Nation (Pay Day Loans)

As a sovereign, a federally recognized Indian tribe is immune from suit in both state and federal courts, unless the tribe has waived its immunity or consented to suit or Congress has authorized the action. Both the United States Supreme Court and this Court have observed that an instrumentality or "arm" of a tribe shares in that tribe's immunity. To date neither court has set out a test to determine arm of the tribe status and the lower federal and state courts have developed a variety of conflicting approaches. This case offers an opportunity to clarify the law for California and to establish a persuasive authority for other jurisdictions confronting this difficult issue.

PDF document icon Opening Brief on the Merits with Signed POS Attached.pdf — PDF document, 2.06 MB (2160569 bytes)

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