And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 10:45:16 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: A moot court of experts in Indian law convened Saturday at Kansas University for a re-argument of a 176-year-old legal decision. Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" http://www.ljworld.com/ Updated 1:37:16 AM Sunday, October 10, 1999 A moot court of experts in Indian law convened Saturday at Kansas University for a re-argument of a 176-year-old legal decision. By Jim Baker Journal-World Writer A moot court isn't the real thing. It's a simulation, a re-enactment of arguments put forth before an actual court during a legal proceeding from the past -- in this case, 176 years ago. A moot court hearing the re-argument of an 1823 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the taking of Indian land by the United States was the centerpiece of the third annual Tribal Law and Governance Conference this weekend at the Kansas University School of Law. Experts in Indian law argued the merits of Johnson vs. M'Intosh -- which held that the United States obtained title to Indian lands by virture of "discovering" them -- before a panel of sitting American Indian tribal court judges. The setting for the re-argument was a conference room at Burge Union on KU's campus. About 30 people listened to lawyers and professors dissect aspects of the 19th century case. Robert Porter, an associate professor at KU's law school, judged the moot court and the weekend conference a success. "This continues to be an opportunity to explore the ways in which American law has affected Indian nations, and what in the future might be done about it," he said. Porter organized the two-day conference, which attracted students from KU's law school and Haskell Indian Nations University, as well as Indian tribal officials, academics and others from around the country who are interested in Indian law. Porter is director of the KU's Tribal Law and Government Center and chief justice of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri Supreme Court. Even though a moot court analyzes a legal decision from the past, Porter said, the issues discussed can still be relevant today. "This case -- Johnson vs. M' Intosh -- is important to all Americans. It's the legal basis on which the United States holds legal title to Indian lands," he said. "I hope to get a different perspective on how to adjudicate a case," said Bruce Rogers, a second-year law student from the University of Tulsa who observed the moot court. Rogers is a descendant of the Zapotec Indians, a tribe from Mexico. "I'm trying to get a flavor for the types of tools I'll use when I become a lawyer practicing Indian law." The moot court's verdict on the re-argument will be published in the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
