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Court rules for California tribe in suit over land access

ABC News: Members of a Native American tribe in California who were temporarily banned from tribal land — one for 10 years — cannot challenge that decision in U.S. court, a divided federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday.

The federal Indian Civil Rights Act does not give U.S. courts the authority to review such temporary bans, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 ruling.

Writing for the majority, Judge M. Margaret McKeown said the court's decision "bolsters tribes' sovereign authority to determine the makeup of their communities and best preserves the rule that federal courts should not entangle themselves in such disputes."

Andrew Stroud, an attorney for four members of the United Auburn Indian Community who filed the case, said he's heartbroken for his clients.

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