(Un)Precedented Times: What the President Can and Can't Do and What That Means for Tribes скачать в хорошем качестве

(Un)Precedented Times: What the President Can and Can't Do and What That Means for Tribes

Presented by Grant Thompson, Ph.D., J.D. This webinar provides an overview of executive orders and their implications for Tribal governments, using examples from the Trump administration to illustrate key concepts. It begins with a review of the three branches of government and the executive branch’s role in applying laws through regulations and enforcement. The presentation explains how executive orders function as policy directives rather than laws, and how changes to regulations must follow the Administrative Procedures Act, including public notice and comment. Participants will learn how Tribes can engage in this process, challenge unlawful executive actions, and assert their rights under treaties, statutes, and the federal trust responsibility. The session also highlights the ongoing requirement for federal agencies to consult with Tribes, offering another avenue for protecting Tribal interests. Full author description of the presentation: This presentation presents the basis for understanding executive orders and highlights a few different Trump executive orders to show what is happening, what will happen, and what Tribes can do in response. The presentation begins with an overview of the three branches of government. Within that structure, the executive applies the legislature’s broad laws to real life. It does this by passing regulations (which fill in a law’s details) and enforcing the law (by policing and regulating). Regulations can only be passed or revoked when they follow the Administrative Procedures Act. This requires a notice-and-comment period of at least 30 days, and some explanation for why the regulation is justified. Courts make sure that the executive is coloring within the lines, but only when a lawsuit asks them to; they cannot be proactive. In theory, courts are able to enforce their rulings, even against the executive branch, by contempt orders enforced by the Federal Marshals. Famously, Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling in an 1831 case involving the Cherokee Nation. However, the Court did not ask the Federal Marshals to act either. Executive orders are not laws; they are policy statements that direct agencies to act a certain way. Most of the executive orders issued by Trump direct agencies to change or revoke existing regulations. To do so, the agencies will have to go through a notice-and-comment period, and provide an explanation of why the action is neither arbitrary or capricious. Tribes will have an opportunity to comment, and the agency must meaningfully respond to substantive comments. Ultimately, executive orders guide agency actions. Agency actions are constrained by the constitution, Congressional statutes (about particular fields and about administrative procedures), treaties, and possibly the government’s trust obligations. As such, Tribes have a unique basis for filing lawsuits seeking to stop executive actions that defy those principles. Additionally, the executive branch has so far maintained its executive order emphasizing consultation and coordination with Tribes, inviting another method for protecting Tribe’s interests.