Saturday, February 6, 2016

14-56909 Tiffany Aguayo v. S.M.R. Jewell United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

They still seemed to be confused by certain terms, like Tribal Council, General Council, Executive Community, and Tribe. The tribe did not pass that Constitution, the tribe is not responsible for the disenrollments, the tribe is not the Executive Committee when the Executive Committee is corrupt and acts outside their jurisdictional duties. Three judges who obviously do not understand tribes at all, and a sort of confused, unprepared lawyer. She should have had her pages tabbed in order to reference them faster, or maybe an IPAD for quick file retrieval if they let you do that. One of the judges looked like he was reading emails or texting someone. The one judge on the end was really into the hypothetical situation, which did not make sense at first, but then it became clearer. It is hard to not have feelings of anger and frustration, but then the courts are supposed to be fact not feeling, except they have false facts that they believe to be true.

Anonymous said...

Why didn't they bring up the 89' decision at all? Is it because the EC does not have to follow the ASIA's final decision? Then why is there even a BIA if they have no authority other than recommendations? Even the judges said it's disheartening what's going on but the have to follow the law and Robert/Theresa know this and that's why they disenrolled illegally because they knew they could get away with it. The Pechanga disenrollee's went to court Jeffredo vs. Macarro in 2011 and the judge that wrote the decision said he had tears in his eyes when he wrote it because he did not agree with the injustice happening to them but had to follow the law. Soon after Robert tested the waters with the first 8 disenrollee's because he knew the courts would not do anything after the Pechanga ruling. Once the BIA or nobody stopped him with the 8 he did it to 164 more then 2 more after that. The timeline matches up along with the ordinances the EC had passed and making themselves the enrollment committee/housing authority to show they planned the disenrollments. The EC has too much power and the power needs to go back to the people! I'm tired of these crooks stealing from us and punishing anyone who gets in their way by taking their percap,banning them from tribal meetings,running for office,voting or even visiting their family on the rez. The worst punishment of all being disenrolled. We all know that's what it was a way to get opposition to shut up. It had nothing to do with blood degree.

Anonymous said...

The BIA is only selective in who they help. Since Amy and Robert are special friends, he gets away with much more. That is what the lawyer should talk about, she should talk about Amy not doing her job because of her relationship with Robert and then if the judges say that she was acting outside her authority, she can be personally sued. She should state that Amy purposely omitted certain evidence in her packets to the ASIA, that although she did recommended that Robert amend parts of his new constitution and to vote on it, she still signed on it to ratify it without his proof of amendments and election, and she has done or failed to do much more. It is time for her and a few others to answer for what the disenrolled of California Tribes have been going through.

Anonymous said...

So what's the decision

Anonymous said...

The decision is to march on the admin and take over. No more bullshit from the courts/BIA or EC not doing a thing to help. They keep saying it's an internal tribal matter then let's fix it internally. Robert/Theresa cannot be allowed to control us the tribe like they do. I don't believe the Maxcey or the others are bad they just believe Robert/Theresa bullshit lies and enjoy the the perks the get from being on the EC and the access. Anybody would but they are not vindictive,theiving people like the other 2. They probably don't even know about the money and other scams those 2 have going on with the tribes money and are lied to as well. Robert/Theresa just keep them blind with perks and turn a blind eye because they think it's better to be on their side than against them because they seen what happens when you go against Smith/Nieto. I feel real sorry for Robert/Theresa kids that have to live with the truth once it comes out and Robert/Theresa are banished from Pala for the crimes they've committed against the people.

Anonymous said...

@February 6, 2016 at 12:26 PM

There is no decision yet that I know of. I don't know if the court is compelled to make a decision in any time frame. I think they can take as long as they want but if I had to guess they will issue a decision sooner rather than later.

No way to know how they will rule but if you watch the video the judges seem to hint that the statue of limitations has ran on challenging the Constitution. Also the judges seemed to agree with the BIA that they have no authority to interpret PBMI's governing documents no matter how wrong they are or how falsely they were enacted.

Anonymous said...

Fuck Robert and Nieto, they must go one way or the other.
The time has come to take them to the curb.
Just like the rest of the trash.
I would love to beat the living shit out of both of them.

Anonymous said...

That lawyer is nothing but talk. She lied to the people who trusted her and even paid her, for what?
She is weak, no balls.

Anonymous said...

New EC shoulda reenrolled then there would have been power in numbers. But there's other families that don't want Brittians back in. Be careful who you call a friend.

Anonymous said...

those other family's that you say don't want the Brittens back in are probably worried about there blood line.
What they don't realize id that the Brittens would probably not vote against them if they would do the right thing.
If this is prolonged much longer I am afraid of what may happen in Pala .Nieto and Smith seem to be plotting against another family and are using this Family to achieve there dirty work for them.
What they don't realize is that some of the dis-enrolled are reaching the end of their rope and could explode at any given time.
All because of ill feelings on the part of Robert Smith, Theresa Nieto, and Dion Perez.
I do not understand why the Membership is risking every thing to support these people.
The general membership could stop all of this hate between Tribal Members and bring peace back to the Tribe if they would stand tall and fight a corrupt and evil EC.
Which Family will be next for you Members that are scared of Smith and Nieto. They are only two people who are set to destroy the entire Reservation which our Ancestors built for us so we could live in peace and be happy.
Please Tribal Members stop them before that happens for everyone sake.

Anonymous said...

That man shouldn't say there was an election to those judges. Maybe the statue of limitations should run from the date of the last enrollment of a 1/16 Brittain as recognized by the BIA, because that's using the 1989 decision that wasn't undone by any constitution.

Anonymous said...

The BIA lawyer lied so much about the so called constitution that he should be held in contempt for doing so.
With all of the hard evidence against Amy D. at the Regional office why don't the disenrolled file suit against her personally for what she did to the Members of the Britten's.
Along with their lawyers remarks that she approved the constitution for Robert and the EC.(ILLEAGLEY).
How can she deny those facts.
Make her pay for what she has done to so many REAL NATIVE PEOPLE.
If they are not stopped soon, there will be no Reservations left.

Reinstatement_Restitution said...

If people want to file suit against Amy Dutschke they should really carefully assess the facts. She is protected by the Administrative Procedures Act, and all she has to prove is that her decision was reasonable. The Court would have to see other factors that demonstrate she acted in malice, with bias, in abuse of discretion, or not in keeping with the law. That is going to be difficult to prove to say the least.

Now there is another kind of lawsuit that could be filed, but I wouldn't be interested in this action until the other lawsuits are decided.

Anonymous said...

The BIA, the federal courts, and State courts have no jurisdiction concerning tribal law, unless those violations infringe onot or violate federal law, in this case the right being questioned bear on interpretation of tribal law, which none of the above have any jurisdiction to interpret.

Anonymous said...

The BIA Lawyer states the paperwork was approved by Amy D. at Regional in Sacramento and not by the ASIA. That's the wrong way.
So the ASIA's approval was based on Amy D's approval.
You know R. Smith pays her a good amount of money to get his shit passed and predated.
A complaint has been filed with all that are over Amy D.
With proof of payments.

Reinstatement_Restitution said...

The difference here is that the PBMI requested BIA approval of tribal law. Then Chairman Robert Smith decided he didn't have to make the recommended revisions. The BIA approved the Constitution despite the glaring attempt to transfer the authority to enact ordinances away from the General Council and to the Pala EC.

Then there is the fact that the Constitution was adopted in a meeting that didn't have the required prior notice. Oh, and only 27 people voted to adopt it. Then there is the fact that the Constitution that was adopted was significantly revised from the version that was voted on in a 1994 election, that the Pala General Council never reviewed or approved the proposed changes, and that what the Pala General Council voted to do was to revise the Articles of Association into a Constitution, not to adopt a revised version they never saw.

The issue of the expiration of the Statute of Limitation is real. There was no challenge of the approval of the Pala Constitution until the disenrollments. That does not mean the Constitution was legally adopted. It just means that the BIA thinks it did its job, and there was plenty of time for people to appeal if they thought there was something wrong.

That assumes that people in Pala can actually dispute the way Robert Smith does things. Or that if there had been a dispute within the General Council that Robert Smith would have notified the BIA of an appeal. This is what is called deference. the BIA defers to the interpretation of the tribe in matters of tribal law. In this case the tribe is Robert Smith.

Anonymous said...

It all goes back to the enrolled Tribal Members.
They use the term Tribal in many areas.
To me this mean things done by the Tribe as a whole, in most cases.
So it's up to the Tribal Members to overturn this disenrollment bullshit, Tribal Members that are not caught up in the corrupt ways of the EC.
Everyone knows that the so called Constitution was never voted on at an election.
So as Members of the Tribe you sit back and hold hands with Smith and Nieto and not do what is right?
You better wake up because as you see this is real and you and your Family could be next and then what. The BIA, the ASIA and the Courts will laugh you out of town. Are you ready to just lye down and take it? This is some serious shit people and you are the ones that can stop it in it's tracks if you are not afraid to take out the trash.
or are you ready to fight Smith and Nieto for what is right.

Anonymous said...

The tribal members really should bring up dis enrollment and put a stop to it. If it happened once and they get away with it, then it will happen again. Tired of the back and forth fighting, the costly law suits, and tension on the Rez. I just want it to be like it use to be. We are all one big family.

Anonymous said...

can i politely say some thing about all these words of committing felony murder to harming the people of our village…i am watching monitoring all suspicious activities and just to let them know we can when threats made and do happen we can go to the state for protection from them..meaning you've just crossed the line and i can 86 all your asses off of your own lands in regards of protection from people living with in our community..be careful who you threaten..one of them just maybe a jr fbi field agent making observations…due to a higher level of public threats on social media…very stupid..

Anonymous said...

Maybe if the people were treated right in the first place with the respect they deserve there would be no need for a blog or for fighting this way. One person made the decision to cause this problem, one person is responsible for the ruin of the tribe, one person is responsible for the hate that is being spread,one person is threatening the members of the tribe to watch what they say or do or they will be kicked out,one person started it. So,instead of making threats, try being a better leader where your people love and respect the job you have done instead of people either cowering because of your threats or kissing your ass so you do not threaten them. Name one person who loves you for just being you, not because of your money or position.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:33pm
What threats are you talking about?
I read through some of the above post and I did not see anything about committing felony murder or anything remotely close to that.

Anonymous said...

@10:33 pm
Shut it! It's our village too we are members. The EC and BIA/gov't sometimes leave people no choice by allowing the rouge EC to lie,cheat,steal from its members with no recourse. The members have no help and when they ask for it the BIA/courts defer to the very same people that are committing the offenses. I'm not saying it's right to hurt anyone and I didn't see any comments where people said they would commit a felony crime. Robert Smith and Theresa Nieto are the only ones comiting felony crimes. By the way there is a New sight/Facebook/Twitter #stopdisenrollment that shows everyone against this political tool corrupt tribal council's use against their people like here in Pala. If it did happen to one of them many people wouldn't be said and say I told you so.

Anonymous said...

@ 10:33pm
If you are so concerned about threats against people, then why are you threating in your post.
You state that "YOU CAN 86 OUR ASSES OF OUR OWN LAND".
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SUSPICOUS ACTIVITY, TRY LOOKING INTO THE EC.
THERE TOU WILL FIND ALL THE SUSPICOUS ACTIVITY YOU WANT.AS FAR AS YOU 86ING ANYONE FROM OUR OWN PROPERTY, YOU CAN GO POUND SAND UP YOUR ASS.
HAVE A VERY NICE DAY.

Anonymous said...

Stop dis enrollment. Honor our ancestors not our casinos. Dis enrollment is a shameful act. Pala should be embarrassed by this action and should be working together to correct it.

Anonymous said...

@10:33pm
Maybe you should talk to the EC about these so called threats of killing someone because that is what they (the EC) are doing to the
Cupeno people by there dis-enrollment bullshit.
They are killing off generations of true native people, but I guess you think that's ok.
So with all do respect, why aren't you fighting for a just cause for the people of Pala instead of bitching about who is threating the EC,
they will get what they deserve in the end.

Anonymous said...

It appears that the Cupeno people that were disenrolled have an option other than fighting the Pala EC. According to R and R, the Agua Calienta Tribe of Cupeno Indians is a federally recognized tribe and you probably qualify to enroll. He also asserts that his tribe has rights to some of the land, assets and etc associated to the Pala Reservation. He seems fairly confident, so why fight with the EC and be frustrated when you can just enroll in the Agua Calienta Tribe of Cupeno Indians.

R and R has joined the tribe, so why not you? Why put up with the frustration of the EC?

Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like someone's fishing.

Anonymous said...

5:09 is definitely fishing.

Reinstatement_Restitution said...

I think it is probably an EC supporter trying to convince people to stop opposing the Pala EC and join the Agua Caliente Tribe. It's okay with me. If you are eligible you can join the good Tribe that is trying to right the wrongs that have been inflicted on the innocent Cupeno people.

Anonymous said...

@ 5;09PM
Why should we give in to the evilness of the EC and just walk away.
No matter what you or anyone else says, we are part of the Tribe and no one can prove any different.
I believe that the Creator will take vengeance upon those that oppose the truth of the blood degree of Margareta Britten.
Just look at all the evidence that proves who her Father was, and then find anything that says other wise.
There is still a lot of things going on and the Truth will prevail in the end and the EC will lose their fight and be held accountable for their actions.

Anonymous said...

I don't really understand how the EC can dis-enroll anyone that has been a member on the Tribal rolls for almost 20 years.
I think that the family of the late Chairman, Robert Lavato is wrong in supporting Robert Smith.
It was Mr. Lavato who enrolled these people in the beginning and it should stand today with the Lavato family members backing what their father did for the betterment of the Tribe.
Just because Mr. Lavato is no longer with us does not mean that all of his work is to be flushed down the toilet.
He was a man of his word and would not have fixed this if it was wrong.Do not disgrace this elder by going against his works and his fight for the truth.
If Mr. Smith was half the man that Mr. Lavato was Pala would be a Respectful Tribe once again.

Anonymous said...

The disenrollee's off Pala will not stop until the wrongs are righted and Margarita's blood is accepted as FULLBLOOD like it is with the BIA,gov't and every other tribe that uses her blood degree. Robert is just a BIG BABY the wines and disenroll's,takes away voting rights, and ability to attend tribal meetings and suspends percap whenever someone talks bad about him or doesn't do what he wants or questions his actions too much . He is a coward and not a real man to do these things and hide behind security. His family should be ashamed. The only reason people support him and be nice to him is because he has the power and they think the percap comes from him when's it the tribes money and will be there, more actually even when someone else is our chairman.

Reinstatement_Restitution said...

It is an individual choice. I want to be a member of a tribe with just laws and honest leaders. Does anyone think PBMI will be able to elect honest leaders and fix the laws that give the leaders control over all the decisions?

I also want to have hope for the future and be part of a tribal community that honors its heritage and respects its elders. Anyone think PBMI is moving in that direction?

The Agua Caliente Tribe stands for the things I believe in.

Anonymous said...

With a leader like Robert Smith nobody in Pala can feel secure in their future because your enrollment in the tribe is not secure. Nobody ever knows when he might turn in them and punish them. It's sad to live this way but that's the reality here in Pala as long as Robert is holding on to power with his lies,cheats and changing of ordinances. Like over ruling the general council (the people) vote for term limits.

Anonymous said...

When a new Chairman is elected and Robert is just another Tribal Citizen that the New Boss will have RS band from the Rez with Theresa Nieto and Dion Perez in tow.
Let them feel what they did to the Britten Family.
It's getting real closer according to good sources.
You can almost hear the clicking of the handcuffs.

Anonymous said...

mr. lavato had the scott family enrolled here in pala,they are from old pala,read the history,on the scott family,we need to get them off our res.send them back to where they belong,i think they come from Rincon.

Anonymous said...

Pala E.C. kicked Bernie Trujillo,Duro,out of her house,2/25/2016.Bernie is a sick lady,65 years old.Howard,Nieto brought it to a vote.We need to put this in the news paper and news on tv.to let the people in the world see,what the pala E.C.is doing to there own people.Pala people wake up you might be next.

Jim D said...

The US Supreme Court votes 1/19/17 on whether or not to take the case of the disenrolled. Say a prayer.