Eighth Circuit remands Mille Lacs Band law enforcement case
February 13, 2025
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded a dispute between the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and Mille Lacs County officials, ruling that a 2023 amendment to Minnesota state law affirms the tribe's unqualified law enforcement jurisdiction over its reservation boundaries. The decision resolves a longstanding conflict, allowing tribal officers to enforce laws on nontrust lands within the reservation. The panel dismissed the county's appeal as moot, noting that the amended law had already settled the law enforcement jurisdiction issue.
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