Maine

The Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes are seeking the power to try domestic violence cases involving non-tribal members, the Portland Press Herald's Colin Woodard reports. The plan is setting up a dispute over the scope of tribal authority in Maine.

A 2013 federal law expanded the authority for tribes to try domestic violence crimes involving non-tribal members so long as tribal courts meet federal constitutional standards and provide legal counsel. A bill has been introduced in Maine to align that state's law with the 2013 amendment to the Violence Against Women Act as well as to give the Penobscots expanded criminal jurisdiction for offenses that involve sentences up to three years.

The Maine Attorney General's Office argues that federal law does not apply to Maine tribes because "the Maine Settlement Act of 1980, which says that no federal Indian law is applicable within Maine if it 'affects or pre-empts the civil, criminal or regulatory jurisdiction of the State of Maine' unless Congress explicitly specifies it is to apply to the Maine tribes," Woodard reports.

Tribal leaders counter that the bill would enable to them to better protect women abused by their non-American Indian intimate partners.

The New York legislature is considering bills to restrict the use of drones by law enforcement, the Tenth Amendment Center reports: "Introduced on Jan. 7, Senate Bill 411 (SB411) by Sen. Gordon Denlinger (R-Syosset) and Assembly Bill 1247 (A01247) would ban law enforcement from using a drone in a criminal investigation with a few exceptions, and would prohibit any 'person, entity, or state agency' from using a drone for surveillance anyplace a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy unless they meet specific requirements."

The Colorado Senate is also considering limits for drones, the Associated Press' Kristen Wyatt reports. The bill also would require law enforcement to have warrants before using drones.

Maine is considering a bill that would go even farther, the Tenth Amendment Center also reports. The bill would place a moratorium on all drone use until July 1, 2017, except for emergency situations. After that, law enforcement agencies would need a court order or a warrant to be able to use drones. The law also would create a private right of action for violations of the law.

After the Portland Press Herald defied a gag order, a judge presiding over a domestic assault case involving an attorney retracted the order, the newspaper's Scott Dolan reports: "'It is certainly very clear to me that this particular order was not lawful, and I should not have ordered the media to refrain from reporting what was said,”' Judge Jeffrey Moskowitz said in a Portland courtroom. It was the testimony of the lawyer's 34-year-old ex-girlfriend that the judge ordered not to be reported.

Maine Governor Paul LePage spent close to $53,000 on private lawyers to try to remove low-income young adults from the state's Medicaid program, even though Attorney General Janet Mills rejected pursing the case and told the governor he couldn't win, the Associated Press reports.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled that the Affordable Care Act requires the state of Maine to keep providing Medicaid coverage to 19- and 20-year-olds from low-income families. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires states accepting federal Medicaid funds to freeze their Medicaid eligibility standards for children until 2019.

Courthouse News' Jack Bouboushian reports that the First Circuit ruled that the Affordable Care Act requires the state of Maine to keep providing Medicaid coverage to 19- and 20-year-olds from low-income families: "the federal Department of Health and Human Services would not approve the change, because the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires states accepting federal Medicaid funds to 'freeze' their Medicaid eligibility standards for children until 2019." The First Circuit ruled the requirement "does not step on state sovereignty ... as setting conditions of eligibility for participation in Medicaid is not a core state function, such as, for example, regulating state elections," Bouboushian further reports.