Wayne Law professor's article cited in amicus brief to Supreme Court

An article written by Wayne State University Law School Assistant Professor Kirsten Matoy Carlson was cited in an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Carlson’s article, “Congress and Indians,” studies Indian-related legislation introduced and enacted by Congress from 1975 to 2013. It aims to increase understanding of the amount and kinds of Indian-related legislation enacted by Congress.

The Supreme Court case is Nebraska v. Parker, which concerns whether Congress intended to change the boundaries of the Omaha reservation in an 1882 Act. The language of the act suggests that Congress didn’t alter the reservation boundaries, Carlson said, but the petitioners contend that the court should. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Carlson’s article was cited in an amicus brief for historical and legal scholars in support of the respondents.

At Wayne Law, Carlson teaches American Indian Law and Civil Procedure. She serves on the State Bar of Michigan Standing Committee on American Indian Law.

Her research focuses on legal advocacy and law reform, with particular attention on the various strategies used by Indian nations and indigenous groups to reform federal Indian law and policy effectively. Carlson’s research integrates traditional legal analysis with social science methodologies for studying legal and political advocacy.

From May 2014 through July 2016, she has a National Science Foundation Law and Social Science Program grant to fund her research project, “Legal Mobilization, Rights Claims, and Federal Indian Policy Reform.” Carlson previously received a National Science Foundation dissertation research grant to study the constitutional entrenchment of aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada. As a Fulbright Scholar, she researched attitudes toward the Waitangi Tribunal and the treaty claims settlement process in New Zealand.

Her articles have been published in the University of Colorado Law Review, American Indian Law Review, Georgia State Law Review, Michigan Law Review and Michigan State Law Review.

Prior to joining Wayne Law, she advocated nationally and internationally to protect the rights of Indian nations as a staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center. She led the center’s advocacy efforts to restore criminal jurisdiction to Indian nations to end violence against women in Indian Country.

Carlson earned a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University; master of arts degree in Maaori studies from the University of Wellington, New Zealand; and law degree and doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan.

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