On January 21, 2021, Robins Kaplan LLP filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court on behalf of ten former United States Attorneys. The case, United States v. Cooley, concerns the scope of tribal law enforcement’s search and seizure authority over non-Natives on the Reservation. The ten amici included Robins Kaplan partners and NAFUSA members Tim Purdon and Brendan Johnson, along with several other NAFUSA members.

On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion holding that a tribal police officer has authority to detain temporarily and to search non-Indian persons traveling on public rights-of-way running through a reservation for potential violations of state or federal law. In doing so, the Court twice cited the amicus brief of the ten former United States Attorneys twice on pages 7 and 8: Click here to read the Supreme Court opinion.