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Lifestyle

Local tribe members react to Supreme Court decision that strikes at the issue of tribal sovereignty.

Within a week’s time the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled that law enforcement officers can’t be sued when they violate the rights of criminal suspects by failing to provide the familiar Miranda warning before questioning them. And on Wednesday came the ruling that Oklahoma has the authority to prosecute non-Native Americans who commit crimes against a Native person on tribal lands, giving jurisdiction to the state and local law enforcement where prior it was solely federal and tribal.This week’s 5-4 decision stems from the case of Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, where Oklahoma state prosecutors charged Victor Castro-Huerta for the malnourishment and neglect of his 5-year-old disabled stepdaughter in 2015. She was a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and the abuse took place on the Cherokee Reservation, but Castro-Huerta is not a Native American. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, however he challenged the decision under 2020′s Supreme Court McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling where he can only be federally prosecuted. McGirt upheld that under the Major Crimes Act, Oklahoma cannot prosecute crimes by Native citizens on tribal lands without federal approval.AdvertisementThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 29, 2022, that states can prosecute crimes against Native American victims committed on Native American reservations if the defendant is non-Native. (Mandel Ngan/AFP-Getty)The latest development will have an impact on tribal sovereignty and not just in Oklahoma, according to members of local Native tribes.“Justice Kavanaugh’s majority opinion brazenly defies not only long-held U.S. Supreme Court precedent in regards to criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country, but also the subject-matter expertise of his own colleague, Justice Gorsuch,” said Doug Kiel, a citizen of the Oneida Nation and professor of Indian legal history at Northwestern University. “In a handful of states that are subject to Public Law 280 (1953), this kind of state criminal jurisdiction does apply, by act of U.S. Congress. Oklahoma is not a Public Law 280 state; nonetheless, Kavanaugh’s majority opinion pretends it is. The earlier McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) decision — in which Gorsuch emphatically wrote, “We hold the government to its word” — respected tribal sovereignty and mapped out a new legal future. This decision in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, on the other hand, has little regard for the legal significance of Indian reservation boundaries.”AdvertisementBeth Redbird, an Oglala Lakota and Oklahoma Choctaw, and co-director of Northwestern University’s Tribal Constitution Project, which is cataloging constitutions of North American Indigenous tribes and analyzing the development of tribal sovereignty in U.S. history, said there’s a significant social cost to decisions like this. She said whereas the McGirt decision was amazing, in that the Supreme Court recognized tribal sovereignty, the Castro-Huerta decision on jurisdiction — the thing promised in treaties to Indians — is yet another attempt by the federal government to take back the final acknowledgment of that promise in “all sorts of pretzel twisting ways.”“This treatment of reservations as not really government entities where we don’t provide them the legitimacy of other governments creates other tensions,” Redbird said. “What we do with the legal system in the United States, is we say that a group of people is sovereign, and then we give them no power. We tell them they’re responsible for the problems and we give them no tools for solutions. And that has consequences up to and including people who can take advantage of that. This is a prime example of the ways in which tribal sovereignty is weaponized. Sovereignty is a double-edged sword. It can help make our lives better, but when we get it, people are afraid of sovereign Indians.”Beth Redbird, a Northwestern University assistant professor of sociology and Native studies, says there’s a significant social cost to the most recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the sovereignty of tribal lands. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta dissent: “Moving forward, the Court cheerily promises, more prosecuting authorities can only “help.” Three sets of prosecutors — federal, tribal and state — are sure to prove better than two. But again, it’s not hard to imagine reasons why the Cherokee might see things differently. If more sets of prosecutors are always better, why not allow Texas to enforce its laws in California? Few sovereigns or their citizens would see that as an improvement. Yet it seems the Court cannot grasp why the Tribe may not. The real party in interest here isn’t Mr. Castro-Huerta but the Cherokee, a Tribe of 400,000 members with its own government. Yet the Cherokee have no voice as parties in these proceedings.”Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority, citing states have jurisdiction over Indian lands unless it is displaced by Congress or unlawfully infringes on tribal sovereignty. He added the court’s decision would not infringe on tribal self-government.“A state prosecution of a crime committed by a non-Indian against an Indian would not deprive the tribe of any of its prosecutorial authority. That is because, with exceptions not invoked here, Indian tribes lack criminal jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians such as Castro-Huerta, even when non-Indians commit crimes against Indians in Indian Country.”Matthew Fletcher, foundation professor of law at Michigan State University College of Law and visiting professor for the UC-Hastings Indigenous Law Program is a citizen of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He said a reversal of the decision could be made one of two ways — by doing what Justice Gorsuch said at the end of his dissent, which was to urge Congress to restore what the majority had taken away. The other way is more of a local, reservation by reservation, state by state way where tribes could persuade states not to exercise the jurisdiction even if they want to, in a more negotiated kind of situation. He says both are viable.“This is not a decision that is rooted in law,” Fletcher said. “This is a decision where the Court said, the majority says: ‘over the last century and a half we’ve changed our minds on Indian law, we’ve been more deferential to states than we originally were. And so we’re just going to take that one additional step and give the state this power.’ Congress is the one that makes law in Indian Country, not the Supreme Court and today the Supreme Court decided that it makes law, too.”“Historians of federal Indian law and policy have long referred to “pendulum swings,” and the shift from McGirt to Castro-Huerta is certainly a big swing,” Kiel said. “In one moment, the federal government embraces nation-to-nation relationships, and in the next, it disrespects the notion of Indigenous governance. In this case, we learn if the respect of Indigenous sovereignty comes at the price of non-Native convenience, it cannot stand.”Advertisementdrockett@chicagotribune.com

Sports

Peter Angelos built an empire of Orioles baseball, law and Baltimore real estate. Will a family feud break up the kingdom?

It is an empire built piece by piece, but reaching expansively across the Baltimore area and beyond — through real estate that includes a downtown landmark and a renowned horse farm, to an aggressive law firm that won billions of dollars for workers harmed by asbestos and smokers sickened by tobacco, and of course, wrapping in the Orioles, whose glories and struggles define their proud and scrappy hometown.But now, in the twilight of his life, Peter G. Angelos’ vast portfolio of assets could be broken up amid a family feud over who will control them.AdvertisementAccording to a recently filed lawsuit, his wife wants to sell the team and his older son wants to “dissolve and dismantle” his law firm, the signature holdings that propelled the son of a Highlandtown tavern owner into one the most prominent and powerful figures in the state.The suit, filed June 9 by his younger son, Louis F. Angelos, 52, details a family feud that allegedly has been brewing since the health of the family patriarch began declining and he could no longer manage his businesses. Peter Angelos’ 93rd birthday is on the Fourth of July.AdvertisementLouis Angelos sued in Baltimore County Circuit Court, claiming his brother John P. Angelos, 54, has sought to seize control of their father’s assets, intimidating and confusing their mother, Georgia Kousouris Angelos, into acquiescence. The 80-year-old matriarch issued a statement in response to the suit, however, saying she alone has the authority to manage the family assets and fully supports John.Whether any asset is sold remains to be seen and, indeed, family holdings often don’t remain intact through the generations for any number of reasons. Disputes such as the one splitting the Angelos family are so familiar, they’ve inspired everything from Shakespeare’s “King Lear” to HBO’s “Succession.”ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 11One Charles Center at 100 N. Charles St., one of a number of properties owned by Peter Angelos, on June 17, 2022. (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun)The Angelos empire has had but one emperor, observers say, making it hard to envision the passing down of the crown.“With Peter’s personality, being such a dominant leader, the Angelos law firm was just him. He ran the Orioles the same way,” said Aris Melissaratos, a former Maryland secretary of business and economic development who now is vice president for leadership development for St. John Properties.“He was kind of dominant everywhere, and dominant over his two sons,” he said. “For decisions, it was always, ‘You have to see Mr. Angelos.’”The Law Offices of Peter Angelos, as the much-advertised firm is called, employed a fluctuating stable of attorneys over the years — but none were made partners, although it’s currently managed by Louis Angelos. And while Peter Angelos organized a group of buyers to purchase the Orioles in 1993, including the late novelist Tom Clancy and tennis-star-turned-broadcaster Pam Shriver, Angelos was the major investor and managing partner.As his health faltered, he granted power of attorney to his wife “to act in my place in all matters,” according to a document signed Oct. 31, 2017, and which was included in the filing of Louis Angelos’ lawsuit.Should she not be able to act in that capacity, the document went on to say, he designated his sons “acting jointly or separately” to replace her as his “attorney-in-fact.” Angelos also created a trust for his holdings, and on Aug. 9, 2019, he discontinued his role as its trustee while his wife and two sons took over as co-trustees.AdvertisementIn October 2020, Georgia Angelos placed her husband’s interest in the Orioles into his trust, according to the lawsuit.One Charles Center, one of a number of properties owned by Peter Angelos, is shown June 17, 2022, in Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun)Peter Angelos last went to his law office, in the gleaming One Charles Center downtown, in February 2018. Angelos bought the building, designed by modernist giant Ludwig Mies van der Rowe, in 1996 for $6 million.The law firm specializes in personal injury cases, most notably illnesses and deaths by steel and shipyard workers from inhaling asbestos. The firm also handled the state’s litigation against the tobacco industry to recover costs related to caring for smokers.Attorneys in town say the law firm is smaller than during the height of the asbestos litigation and, according to Louis Angelos’ suit, John Angelos considered it unsustainable and thought it needed to be dissolved or spun off. Louis Angelos refused, the suit said, noting their father considered his firm his “most significant achievement” and his role with the Orioles “strictly secondary.”From a working-class background — his parents immigrated from Greece, and he went to law school at night — he rose in status and wealth. He served as a City Council member and ran unsuccessfully for mayor, and became a major philanthropic and Democratic political donor. He has given millions to his alma mater, the University of Baltimore Law School, where a building bears the names of his parents, John and Frances Angelos.Angelos has owned various downtown buildings over the years, and sought to protect the office-leasing market from moving to other parts of town. He sued to halt development plans outside the central business district, such as the westside Superblock project and the State Center revamp.AdvertisementLouis Angelos’ lawsuit accuses his brother of transferring what he estimates as more than $90 million of their father’s real estate holdings into an LLC owned by a trust that John Angelos largely controls.The former home of Boccaccio Restaurant in Baltimore’s Little Italy, one of a number of properties owned by Peter Angelos, is shown on June 17, 2022. (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun)The list includes city and county properties, including 925 Eastern Ave. in Little Italy, which housed Boccaccio Restaurant until shortly after its owner’s death in 2008. Peter Angelos had been a regular, hosting everyone from Os pitching great Jim Palmer, who said the team owner was trying to woo him as manager, to then-Gov. Martin O’Malley, in a reported attempt to warm a chilly relationship with the Democrat.Angelos previously bought the legendary Maison Marconi on West Saratoga Street, saying he would relocate the restaurant to one of his Charles Street properties. Instead, he closed it five years later and sold the building in 2019.Angelos’ business interests tend to overlap. He owned thoroughbred horses before the Orioles, racing them under the name Marathon Farm. In 1998, he bought a 237-acre horse farm in Baltimore County for $2.6 million. He has named horses after then-Os manager Buck Showalter and right fielder Nick Markakis.The value of Peter Angelos’ fortune is unclear, although Melissaratos estimates it’s in excess of $2 billion. The Orioles are valued by Forbes at $1.375 billion.For many a family, experts say, the transition from founder to the next generation can be fraught.Advertisement“You’re not just dealing with business issues. You’re dealing with family issues, as well,” said Maurice Offit, a Baltimore-based attorney who specializes in estate planning, but noted he has no independent knowledge of the Angelos family’s situation. “Many times it’s hard.”And when the crown jewel of the family business is particularly high-profile, with much of the town invested in its every move, the challenges are that much greater, Melissaratos said.“The Os and Baltimore are synonymous,” he said.“Succession planning is always difficult to achieve, especially in a family with such a visible asset like the Orioles,” Melissaratos said.John A. Pica Jr., a former Democratic state legislator, agreed. Pica, who previously worked for the Angelos law firm and now is a lobbyist, said he hopes the family settles its differences.“Mr. Angelos built an empire through hard work. He kept the Orioles in Baltimore,” he said. “It’s very sad to see a battle like this going on, but I’m sure it will all work out.”AdvertisementExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 55Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun)In his lawsuit, Louis Angelos said his father brought both sons into the Orioles operations starting around 1995, two years after he and other investors bought the team for $173 million, then the most ever paid for a sports team.Frank Wren, the Orioles general manager for a single year, 1999, said the brothers were feeling their way in a still-unfamiliar field for them, and it was not always clear what their role was.“Both of the kids were new to the business, trying to figure out how to lead,” he said. “They were figuring out what was their place, where they really fit in, ‘What will Dad let us do?’ ‘Will the role have meat to it — or is it just a title and Dad’s running everything?’”Wren said Louis Angelos “had a decent feel for the game” and “was more interested in baseball stuff” than his brother at the time.Peter Angelos fired Wren at the end of the season, in part because he refused to hold a plane for a West Coast road trip for star Cal Ripken Jr., who was caught in traffic.“Peter’s very demanding. I don’t think saying that takes anyone by surprise,” Wren said. “He has a view of what should be done, and how.”AdvertisementThe lawsuit said the brothers initially worked together collaboratively, but a “rift” developed between John Angelos and his father over such matters as where the team should locate its spring training facility. The acrimony led to John Angelos allegedly walking away from the Orioles for long periods of time, during which Louis Angelos’ role on the team grew, the lawsuit said.John Angelos returned to the team in 2017 at his father’s request, according to the lawsuit, and began trying to seize control, unilaterally getting rid of those loyal to Peter Angelos and installing his own people. He now holds the title of chairman and CEO of the team.Louis Angelos said in his suit that his brother worked to consolidate his control over the team and could sell it or move it to Tennessee, where he lives in Nashville. John Angelos has denied he would move the team, and in the lawsuit, he is accused of stalling and thwarting his mother’s desire for a sale.The turmoil has many fans watching not just what’s happening on the field, where a yearslong rebuilding process seems to be bearing some fruit in exciting young players, but off it as well.“It’s unfortunate this rift comes as the team is about to turn around,” Melissaratos said.“It’s got to be resolved peacefully, not by having family laundry aired in public,” he said. “Someone needs to come in and calm things down. I would offer to do it.”

News

Indulgence and illusions

Back in the Before Times, I saw Carisa Hendrix perform as her alter ego, dipsomaniacal Lucy Darling, at the Chicago Magic Lounge. Combining va-va-voom Golden Age…

Sports

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges arrested in LA, reportedly on felony domestic violence charges

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles after a warrant was issued, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.LAPD spokeswoman Lizeth Lomeli confirmed Bridges was arrested, but did not release details on the charges. TMZ reported that Bridges is facing felony domestic violence charges.AdvertisementThe Hornets have not responded to news of Bridges’ arrest.Bridges, the Hornets’ leading scorer last season, is set to become a restricted free agent and could command a max contract in the coming weeks. The news comes on the eve of NBA free agency, which begins Thursday night with teams able to speak with free agents.AdvertisementThe 24-year-old Bridges averaged career highs with 20.2 points and seven rebounds last season in what amounted to a breakout season for the four-year NBA veteran while playing alongside All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball.Bridges, who played at Michigan State, is also a rapper who goes by the name RTB MB.The Hornets extended Bridges a qualifying offer on Tuesday, which allows them to a chance to match any offer sheet made by another team.“As an organization we love Miles,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Tuesday. “We are going to bring him back. He has been great for the franchise and I believe, with his work ethic, he’s only going to get better.”The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Bridges said after the season he wanted to return to the Hornets, but he recently changed his Twitter bio from “forward for the Charlotte Hornets” to “It’s me,” adding some intrigue to the situation.

News

Native tongues

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