20th Annual National NALSA Moot Court Competition

This year is especially exciting as the competition will be hosted by the University of Hawai’i William S. Richardson School of Law in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The competition will be held on February 24 and 25, 2012.

Important dates:

CLICK HERE to visit UHNALSA’s NNALSA Moot Court Competition website. Please check the website regularly as UHNALSA will update with important information as the competition approaches.

If you have any further questions please direct them to NALSA@hawaii.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions re Moot Court Problem

1) The fact pattern leads me to believe that the parties to the case at hand are the State of Molikini v. Secretary of the Interior… not including the Native Molokinian Government.  Is this a correct presumption?  The Native Molokinian Government is not a party to this action.

2) Did the Native Molokinian Government include their decision to offer membership to adopted children in their constitution?  Yes.

3) How did the OFA recognition process include recognition of the membership for adopted children if it was not in the tribes constitution? See answer to question 2.

4) If (as the problem states) the Native Molokinian Government’s constitution originally included the requirement that “membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe” did the Native Molokinian Government later amend their constitution to reflect the decision to add adopted children after OFA recognition process?  The problem does not state that the Native Molokinian Government’s constitution originally included a requirement that “membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe.”  See answer to question 2.

5) Do we use current case law for events in the future? i.e. pending legislation would still be pending etc.  Use current case law unless it has been superseded by future law as described in the problem.

6) Is Hawaii a PL280 state in the future?  Hawaii is not involved in this problem, and the State of Molokini is not a PL 280 state.

7) Is the IRA to apply to these tribal nations in the future?   The IRA applies to these tribal nations as it would to any other federally recognized Indian tribe recognized through the OFA process or congressional recognition. 

8) Were both the Native Molokinian Government and Molokini Nation considered a sovereign nation federally recognized under the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934? See answer to question 7.

9) Is this an assertion or a statement of fact: “the state has conceded that the Native Molokinian Government meets all other criteria for acknowledgement through the OFA process, including classification as an “Indian group” and demonstration of government continuity.”?  It is a statement of fact.

10) Is it an assertion or a statement of fact that the “resulting Native Molokinian body politic” is considered the active tribal government of the Native Molokinian Government? Or something else?  It is a statement of fact.

11) Is it an assertion or a statement of fact that the amendments in the future, year 2013, to the Indian Reorganization Act apply both to 25 USC section 465 and section 467? Is this effectively the Carcieri fix that is currently pending?  It is a statement of fact that the 2013 amendments “fixed” Carcieri by amending the IRA to reaffirm the Secretary’s authority to take land into trust for “all federally recognized Indian tribes.”

12) Is the 1921 US Congress homesteading legislation analogous to existing legislation? Yes.

13) Is the 1921 Molokinian Homestead Act analogous to existing legislation? See answer to question no. 12.

14) Were the enrolled qualified Native Molokinians state-recognized after the Native Molokinan Roll Commission completed its work of compiling the roll of qualified Native Molokinans?  The members of the qualified Native Molokinian roll, and their descendants, were acknowledged by the State of Molokini as the indigenous, aboriginal, maoli population of Molokini once the roll was completed, but no formal government-to-government relationship was formed between the Native Molokinian Government and the State of Molokini upon completion of the roll.  

 

click here for NNALSA Moot Court Competition Official Rules.