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No. 21–429. Argued April 27, 2022—Decided June 29, 2022

Castro-Huerta was convicted of child neglect in Oklahoma state court. The Supreme Court subsequently held that the Creek Nation’s eastern Oklahoma reservation was never properly disestablished and remained “Indian country.” Castro-Huerta then argued that the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute him (a non-Indian) for a crime committed against his stepdaughter (Cherokee Indian) in Tulsa (Indian country). The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals vacated his conviction.

The Supreme Court reversed. The federal government and the state have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country. States have jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed in Indian country unless preempted either under ordinary preemption principles, or when the exercise of state jurisdiction would unlawfully infringe on tribal self-government. Neither preempts state jurisdiction in this case.

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INTRODUCTION

Court personnel, litigants and their attorneys clearly felt the impact of Covid-19 as they were struggling to stand upright in a world turned upside down.  Personal lives were disrupted.  Court operations were chaotic.  Filings, motions, depositions, hearings, trials were massively upset with many defaults and dismissals.  The self-represented faced closed help centers. Everyone faced initial challenges of life under emergency directives. and the implementation of a variety of new ways to operate while reducing in person contact.

How prepared were we for such an unanticipated event? How well did we do?  How can we avoid chaos in the future and minimize fallout? Like picking up the rubble after a tornado has blown through your house, everyone is struggling to return to a new normal.  The impact of Covid-19 was so widespread and the plethora of issues provoked so complex, that it’s going to take a while. Yet now, more than two years later, the pandemic is waning Recovery has begun.

The Historical Society of the New York State Courts offers a look back at Covid-19’s impact in Dispensing Justice  From a Distance: Journal of the NYS Courts During the 2020-2021 Pandemic. 

A host of additional resources highlight that problems are being recognized and solutions being formulated.  Several of these have been organized in, COVID-19’s Impact on the New York State Courts, Legal Community, and Litigants – The following Selected Bibliography, compiles articles, reports and websites reflecting the state of the literature available with a specific focus on issues affecting the New York State Courts.

 

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On this July 4, after a wonderful celebration of food, fun and fireworks, I thought perhaps it would be appropriate to write a post commemorating the beginnings of both the naming of the United States and the observance  of July 4 as a celebration of the birth of American independence:

On September 9, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted “United States” as a new name for what had been called the “United Colonies.” The name United States of America has remained since then as a symbol of freedom and independence.

Benjamin Franklin popularized the concept of a political union in his famous “Join, Or Die” cartoon in 1754. A generation later, the concept of unity became a reality. Thomas Jefferson is credited as being the first person to come up with the name, which he used while drafting the Declaration of Independence. In June 1776, Jefferson’s draft version of the Declaration started with the following sentence: “A Declaration of the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress assembled.”  The final version of the Declaration starts with the date July 4, 1776 and the following statement: “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” Since that date, July 4 continues to be celebrated as the birth of American independence . It has been observed as a federal holiday (Independence day) since 1941.

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In the past year there has been what appears to be a constant drumbeat, seemingly almost weekly and sometimes daily, of reports of mass shootings and deaths by firearms throughout the United States. There are also statistics. A recent study reported by the BBC indicates there has been a steady increase by year in the number of gun deaths in the U.S. between 2014 and 2021 with the exception of a small dip in 2020. Reliable published statistics for 2022 have been difficult to locate due to the fact that 2022 is the current year but according to the Gun Violence Archive there have been 225 mass shootings, 14 mass murders, and 19,350 total number of gun violence deaths (all causes) that have occurred as of June 11, 2022.

While there has long been an ebb and flow of general concerns regarding gun violence and mass shootings in America, the high level of recent reporting mentioned earlier raises the question: Has gun violence and particularly mass shootings in the United States increased to the point where it can now be reasonably asserted that this issue has now become a crisis in America?

The Congressional Research Service defines mass shootings as “multiple firearm homicide incidents involving four or more victims at one or more locations close to one another”. The FBI definition is essentially the same but in the United States there are several different, but common, other definitions of mass shootings. For a more extended discussion see Richard Berk’s analysis of this topic, What is Mass Shooting? What Can Be Done?, on the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Criminology website.

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There are many ways to define mood, or national mood, but for this posting I have selected the following: the perceived emotional tone and general attitudes of the American people in 2022.

During my research, I found many references which discussed this topic but have pared down the list to the six items listed below. Some of the materials are primarily news articles and essays, some consist primarily of data derived from surveys, and others are a combination of the two. Looking at the materials through another lens, some of the articles emphasize politics, some economics, and others American society more generally. Finally, some of the articles examine the mood of American society primarily from within, while at least one article examines American moods and attitudes from an international perspective as viewed by others from throughout the world.

I will close by quoting from a 2018 New York Times Magazine article by Steven Hyden (IS THE NATIONAL MOOD THE ONE IN POLLS OR THE ONE ONLINE?, The New York Times Magazine, July 2, 2018).

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March 27, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ — Marquis Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present David Badertscher with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Mr. Badertscher celebrates many years’ experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

As a historian, former educator and retired principal law librarian for the New York Supreme Court Library, Mr. Badertscher understands the importance of keeping accurate and detailed records. Whether cataloguing materials or conducting research, he maintained a commitment to professional excellence that lasted the duration of his career. After earning a Bachelor of Science from Indiana State University in 1957, he went on to teach at Rockville High School in Indiana, Medinah Elementary School in Illinois and Beachwood High School in Ohio. He then began working in the Chicago Public Library system before becoming an assistant reference and circulation librarian at the University of Chicago Law School, where he laid the groundwork for the next portion of his professional life. He also obtained a MS from Indiana State University in Social Science and later an MALS in library and information science from Rosary College, now Dominican University.

In 1973, Mr. Badertscher left the Midwest for Washington, DC, where he served as Executive Law Librarian of Georgetown University Law Center until 1978. He briefly served as library director for the firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP before becoming a Principal Law Librarian of the State of New York Unified Court System a position he held from 1980 until 2012. While there, he also taught at Baruch College and for ten years was a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Library Agency, now the Metropolitan New York Library Council where he served as chairman of the Board Personnel Committee. It was during his time working with the court system that he helped to introduce computer-assisted legal research in the trial courts, implemented a new method for handling transcripts, and developed blogging research services for the courts. These contributions, in addition to the experience he gained alongside a number of high-caliber professionals at the University of Chicago, have been the highlights of Mr. Badertscher’s impressive career.

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Included below are my introductory remarks delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries on July 23, 2012 as part Program E-1 State Advocacy Strategies: Learning to Connect, Grow and Survive. The material below includes only my introductory remarks and a series of slides (see link below) not included as AALL handouts. See added explanation below.

David Badertscher

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

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TITLE: The Fear Within

SUBTITLE: Spies, Commies, and American Democracy on Trial AUTHOR: Scott Martelle PUBLICATION DATE: May 2011

PUBLISHER: Rutgers University Press PAGE COUNT: 320 pp.

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The following is a link to a a listing of towns in Union County New Jersey and the number of gangs reported to be established in each town, even many of the smaller ones. One reason for publishing this post is that we suspect this particular article may point to a very small representation of a much larger problem throughout the nation that should concern us all.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/nj_gangs_have_presence_in_all.html?appSession=82694619262727

David Badertsher

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