Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin (Tribal Bankruptcy)

Jake Leahy Season 2022 Episode 39

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In Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, the Supreme Court whether Congress abrogated tribal sovereignty in the Bankruptcy Code. Writing for the majority, Justice Kagan rules that Congress unequivocally abrogated tribal sovereign immunity in the Bankruptcy Code. Kagan reasons that "foreign or domestic" governments is a term such as "here or there;" meaning it encompasses all forms of governments anywhere. As the sole dissenter, Justice Gorsuch reasons that the words should construed more narrowly - that if Congress intended to abrogate tribal immunity, it would have done so. Hosted by Jake A. Leahy. 

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