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  Marzulla Law, LLC is the nation's leading law firm for takings claims against the federal government. ML represents landowners, developers, water districts, Indian tribes, business, and corporate interests in litigation of property rights and contract claims. ML also represents clients in environmental enforcement actions, and litigation involving natural resources and permitting issues, in federal district courts and courts of appeal.
We hope that this Newsletter will serve as a resource for you.
Best regards,
Nancie and Roger Marzulla
Marzulla Law, LLC
Tel.: 202.822.6760 
www.marzulla.com
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Chumash Tribe Prevails in Carcieri Determination
In November 2000, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (Chumash Tribe) in Santa Barbara County, California---- the only federally recognized Chumash tribe in the nation---- submitted an application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) requesting that it take into trust 6.9 acres of land adjacent to their Reservation. Trust status for the land is important for Tribal sovereignty and self-governance. The Chumash Tribe amended their application in 2002 when an important ancient Chumash burial site was discovered. The plans now call for a cultural center, commemorative park, and museum.
After the BIA approved the Tribe's fee-to-trust application in 2005, two citizen groups---- Preservation of Los Olivos (POLO) and Preservation of Santa Ynez (POSY)---- challenged the decision. In 2006, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) dismissed POLY/POSY's legal challenge for lack of standing. Over the course of the next four years the matter moved back-and-forth between federal district court and the IBIA---- all over the issue of the citizen groups' standing to bring the challenge.
Then, in early 2010, the citizen groups introduced an argument based on the recent Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, 555 U.S. 379 (2009). In that case, the Court held that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior can only take an Indian tribe's land into trust if the tribe was under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) was enacted in 1934. POLY/POSY questioned if the Chumash Tribe was under federal jurisdiction in 1934. If not, then the BIA, under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior, cannot take the 6.9 acres of land into trust as requested by the Chumash Tribe.
Carcieri v. Salazar
In 1991, the Narragansett Tribe's housing authority purchased 31 acres of land in the town of Charlestown, Rhode Island adjacent to the Tribe's 1,800 acres of settlement lands. Soon thereafter, a dispute arose about the Tribe's planned construction for Tribal housing. The case went to federal court in 1996.
While litigation was yet pending in the case, the Tribe petitioned the Secretary of the Interior to accept the 31 acres of land into trust for the Tribe pursuant to the IRA. In March 1998, the Secretary of the Interior accepted the land into trust. The Town of Charlestown, in which the 31 acres were located, appealed the Interior Secretary's decision to the IBIA, which upheld the Secretary's decision to accept the land into trust.
The Town of Charlestown sought a review of IBIA decision in federal district court, which in 2003 affirmed the IBIA's upholding of the Secretary's decision. Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, the State of Rhode Island, and the Town of Charlestown appealed the district court's decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the Secretary's decision, first in a 2005 panel decision and then in a 2008 en banc ruling.
The matter then went before the U.S. Supreme Court. Central to Carcieri was whether the Narragansett Tribe of Indians in Rhode Island could receive benefits under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934 if the Tribe was not under federal jurisdiction (i.e., a federally recognized tribe) when the IRA was enacted.
Ultimately, at issue was the interpretation of the statutory phrase "now under Federal jurisdiction" in 25 U.S.C. §479, which governs how Indian tribes are federally recognized for the purpose of receiving benefits under the IRA, including the right to have land placed under trust by the Secretary of the Interior.
The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately held that "now" under federal jurisdiction refers to the date of the IRA's enactment---- 1934. In Carcieri, the Narragansett Tribe did not achieve formal federal recognition until 1983.
The Chumash Tribe held to be under federal jurisdiction in 1934
Following the Supreme Court's ruling on Carcieri, in May 2010, the IBIA, at the request of the BIA, granted a request for a limited remand for the sole purpose of allowing the BIA to consider whether the Chumash Tribe was under federal jurisdiction in 1934. Two years later, in May 2012, the Office of Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior concluded, after reviewing evidence submitted by the Chumash Tribe, that the "United States established the Santa Ynez Reservation for the Chumash Tribe by at least 1906 and included the Tribe's members on the Indian Census rolls in 1934, all of which further bolsters the conclusion that the Chumash Tribe was under federal jurisdiction in 1934."
As a result, in accordance with Carcieri, the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to take the 6.9 acres into trust for the Chumash Tribe. In short, now, after many years of litigation, the Secretary has again confirmed its original decision to take the 6.9 acres into trust----an important victory for the Chumash Tribe in achieving their goal of building a cultural center honoring the Chumash people and a common park for the community as a whole to enjoy.
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In Other News: Exotic Wildlife Wins Settlement with Interior Department
The Exotic Wildlife Association, represented by Marzulla Law, entered in a settlement agreement with the United States in which the U.S. Department of Interior agreed to timely act on the Exotic Wildlife Association's pending petition to remove three antelope species---- the Scimitar-horned Oryx, Addax, and Dama gazelle----from the endangered species list. The settlement also requires the United States to reimburse the Exotic Wildlife Association for its attorneys' fees and costs associated with bringing and pursuing this lawsuit against the Interior Department for its failing to timely act on the Exotic Wildlife's delisting petition.
Attorney Nancie G. Marzulla, who represents the Exotic Wildlife Association in the delisting petition challenge, explained, "This settlement is an important victory for the Exotic Wildlife Association, which is acting in the best interests of these three antelope species but has been unfortunately fought by the Interior Department every step of the way. Now, with this settlement in place, the Government may finally realize that it must act in the best interests of the antelope species, or at least comply with its statutory obligations under the Endangered Species Act."
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Court of Federal Claims Event
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Registration is now open for the 25th Annual Judicial Conference on November 15, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Please click on the image below for further details and registration.
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What People Are Saying About Marzulla Law...
"Working with Nancie and Roger has been a true joy. They have built a record of trust, compassion and ethics with me and to Indian Country and for that I will eternally be grateful."
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Tom Rodgers
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Spotlight:
Tom Rodgers
 Tom Rodgers, who worked with us on the Chumash case, obtained his B.A. in Political Science and Economics, J.D. and L.L.M in Taxation at the University of Denver. He went on to obtain a Masters in International Public Policy with an emphasis in China Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also attended the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Executive MBA program. Rodgers served as tax counsel to United States Tax Court Judge Marvin F. Peterson. He also served as tax legislative counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. Rodgers was the main whistleblower in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, which according to the Washington Post was the largest congressional lobbying scandal in the last one hundred years. The exposure of the scandal led to largest re-write of ethics laws since the Watergate scandal and flipped the balance of power in the United States Senate. For his whistleblower efforts, Rodgers received an honorary Masters Scholar in Ethics award from the University of Denver Law School. He appeared in and was credited for the Sundance Film Festival documentary release "Casino Jack and The United States of Money." He recently had the "Tom C. Rodgers O-tee-paym-soo-wuk Ethics in Government Law School Scholarship" named in his honor. O-tee-paym-soo-wuk is a Cree Indian word for "a person who owns himself." 
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Marzulla Law Spotlight: 
Tucker Roy and Lucy Olson
Tucker Roy
A fourth-year Business Administration Major at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Tucker joins Marzulla Law as one of our 2012 summer interns. He comes to us via the Washington Center's renowned Law and Criminal Justice internship program. His interest in the law derives from his degree focus on Music Administration, where he is pursuing course work in Music Industry Contract Law, Legal Issues in the Entertainment Industry, Music Publishing, Copyright Law, Business Law, Business Ethics, and Principles of Management.
During his time with us he has assisted our attorneys and staff in the organization and preparation of case materials, legal documents, as well as attending case-related hearings involving the Endangered Species Act at the House of Representatives Cannon Building.
"This summer has opened my eyes to what really goes on within a law firm," says Tucker. "I have learned that it truly takes hard work and dedication to give clients the best service and counsel possible."
Tucker's interests include music, going to shows and concerts, documentary films, and preparing authentic Tennessee barbeque.
Lucy Olson Lucy also joins us as one of our 2012 summer interns from the Washington Center's internship program. She is a fourth-year student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California where she is pursuing her B.A. in Political Science and English Literature. Lucy decided to participate in the Washington Center's internship program because she was eager to get first-hand experience working in an active litigation firm. Not surprisingly, Lucy is also considering going to law school after she graduates. "I've learned so much about the daily goings on in a law office this summer," says Lucy. "I feel like I can make a much more informed decision about whether or not to attend law school, which is exactly what I came to D.C. to find out!" At Marzulla Law, she contributes to the legal team's efforts to prepare for our upcoming trials in numerous ways. She assisted attorneys during depositions and we've put her writing and editing skills to good use---- skills that she developed as a copy editor at the Loyolan Newspaper. We hope that her summer in Washington was as exciting as last summer, when she lived in Ireland for five weeks. There, she studied Irish literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Lucy enjoys ballet, running, reading, and watching the San Francisco Giants play baseball.
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Marzulla Law, LLC is a Washington D.C.---- based law firm. Nancie G. Marzulla and Roger J. Marzulla help property owners get paid just compensation when the Government takes their property through inverse condemnation.
ML lawyers practice in the federal courts, especially the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. District Court for District of Columbia, as well as other federal district courts, appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. ML also represents clients in administrative agencies, such as the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings or the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.
Chambers has recognized Marzulla Law as one of the top ten water rights litigation firms in the country. Nancie Marzulla and Roger Marzulla have been selected by their peers to be included on the list of Best Lawyers in America, and their firm has the highest AV-rating from Martindale-Hubble. Nancie and Roger Marzulla have been recognized by Best Lawyers as a Top Tier law firm by U.S. News & World Report for environmental law, and Marzulla Law is a proud member of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms.
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