Neil McGill Gorsuch

Gorsuch . ‘Even so, the years since seem to have brought nothing but relitigation of those boundaries. Utah and its
subdivisions bear responsibility for much of this. We have even had to take the extraordinary step of reminding them, parties
who should (and do) know better, of the possibility of sanctions if they continue to defy settled judicial mandates.’” [Uintah
Basin Standard, 8/17/16]
Authored An 18-Page Statement Rebuking The State Of Utah And Myton, UT
Neil Gorsuch Authored An 18-Page Statement Rebuking The State Of Utah And Myton, UT For Encroaching On
Longstanding Ute Tribal Sovereignty In The Uintah Basin. According to Uintah Basin Standard, “The Ute Tribe won
yet another victory in a long-standing sovereignty case on Tuesday, Aug. 9, as the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its
earlier rulings regarding tribal jurisdiction of lands in the Uintah Basin. Additionally, Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch issued an 18-
page statement rebuking both the State of Utah and Myton City for keeping the dispute alive. The case before the court
involved attempts by Myton City to prosecute tribal members for crimes committed on lands that the court had already
confirmed were under tribal jurisdiction. In a unanimous decision, all three judges on the case once again confirmed the
boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation as previously established. The panel also noted that the Ute Tribe has
essentially won the case seven times in the last 40 years.” [Uintah Basin Standard, 8/17/16]
Gorsuch Blocked Myton, UT’s Attempt To Dismiss A Lawsuit Brought By The Ute Tribe That Claimed
Local Officials Were Improperly Exercising Criminal Jurisdiction Over Tribal Members On Tribal Lands.
According to Uintah Basin Standard, “The case before the court last week involved attempts by Myton City to dismiss
a lawsuit from the tribe that came before the court in 2015. The tribe’s suit stated that local officials were exercising
criminal jurisdiction over tribal members on tribal lands. Myton City, however, disputes that fact. ‘(Myton) contends
that not a single bit of land within its boundaries was subject to the 1945 restoration order,’ wrote Gorsuch . ‘The
Tribe’s factual allegation that Myton includes land that qualifies as Indian country under the terms of Ute V is a good
deal more than plausible. Indeed, it is undisputed that Myton lies on land that was part of the Tribe’s original
reservation. The town’s own plan and plat acknowledge that even today ‘approximately 48 percent of the town’s
geographic space remains tribal trust lands.’’” [Uintah Basin Standard, 8/17/16]
Neil Gorsuch: “Checkerboard Jurisdiction [Between Sovereign Tribes And U.S. Governments] Is A Fact Of Daily
Life Throughout The West, And Something Many Localities Have Lived With Successfully.” According to Uintah
Basin Standard, “Myton City urged the court to consider the consequences that inevitably follow from having lands within its
borders where it has no jurisdiction over some of its citizens. While the checkerboard jurisdiction is certainly problematic, the
court dismissed the argument out of hand. ‘(This) is the natural consequence of Congress’s decision to open and then close
reservation lands to outside elements. Neither would a victory for Myton eliminate the checkerboard that already exists in
former Utah reservation lands; it would only alter the shape in one relatively small and peculiar way,’ Gorsuch wrote.
‘Checkerboard jurisdiction is a fact of daily life throughout the West, and something many localities have lived with
successfully. Myton offers no reason to think it has not done or cannot do the same.’” [Uintah Basin Standard, 8/17/16]
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