5/9/18
Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Tribal Officials
u How to determine whether act is within “scope of delegated authority”: q Examine enabling statute or law and determine whether the official was authorized to carry out the action at issue q Ask: Was the official empowered to do what s/he did? If so, the action was taken pursuant to the official’s delegated authority and protected by the tribe’s sovereign immunity
Tribal Sovereign Immunity: Tribal Officials
u What if the official’s actions were wrong? q Merely being wrong or mistaken does not take an action outside the scope of delegated authority u The scope of authority analysis turns “on the breadth of official power the official enjoys and not whether the official is charged with using that power tortuously or wrongfully.” Tenneco Oil Co. v Sac & Fox Tribe , 725 F.2d 572, 576 (10th Cir. 1984) q Official action is still an action of the sovereign entity, even if the official’s actions were wrong or mistaken, so long as it does not conflict with the official’s valid authority
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