This week, former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon joins Clay Jenkinson to explain the famous "Marshall Trilogy," the three landmark Supreme Court cases issued by Chief Justice John Marshall between 1823 and 1832. The first, Johnson v. M'Intosh (1823) incorporated the Doctrine of Discovery into American law. The second, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) declared that Native tribes represent "domestic dependent nations," more sovereign that U.S. states, but not as sovereign as, say, Canada or France. The U.S. government has a sacred trust relationship with the Native peoples of America. And the third, Worcester v. Georgia (1832), says individual states cannot intrude on the sovereignty of Native American nations--only the national government of the United States can do that. And, Tim provides an analysis of White-Indian relations on the northern plains today.
Tim Purdon is a Partner at Robins Kaplan LLP where he serves and co-chairs the firm’s American Indian Law and Policy Group. Tim was appointed by President Barack Obama as United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota in 2010. Since leaving the Department of Justice in 2015, Tim has represented Tribal Nations across the United States who find themselves embroiled in complex historic disputes. Tim’s work for his 28 client Tribes in the national litigation against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid pills earned him “Attorney of the Year” honors from both The Best Lawyers in America and Minnesota Lawyer in 2022.
Download the full episode here.