Tribal Court Seal
The San Manuel Tribal Court was established under the San Manuel Judicial Code in 2003. After several years
of development, the court opened on October 23, 2009.
The Tribal Court exercises general civil jurisdiction over tribal citizens and persons who have consented
to tribal jurisdiction, either expressly or implicitly by entering the San Manuel Reservation or engaging
in contractual relations with the Tribe. The Tribal Court does not hear gaming-related disputes, which
are handled in accordance with the Tribal-State Compact.
The San Manuel Tribal Court consists of the Trial Court and the Appellate Court. The Trial Court's Chief
Judge acts as the Chief Administrator of both the Trial Court and the Appellate Court.
The Chief Judge and Appellate Judges are appointed by the General Council, in consultation with the Judiciary
Committee. Pro-Tempore Judges (temporary judges) are appointed by the Business Committee, in consultation
with the Judiciary Committee and the Chief Judge.
Information Regarding Court Reopening Plans – CLICK HERE
Trial Court
Pro Tem Judge - Robert Clinton
Judge Clinton
Robert N. Clinton currently serves as the Foundation Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College
of Law at Arizona State University and as an Affiliated Faculty member of the ASU American Indian
Studies Program. He is also a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Law Science & Innovation. He is also
an Affiliated Faculty member of the ASU Center on the Future of War. Professor Clinton was born and
raised in the Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area. He did his undergraduate work at the University
of Michigan where he received a B.A. in political science and attended the University of Chicago
Law School, receiving his J.D. After private practice in Chicago with the law firm then known as
Devoe, Shadur and Krupp, he joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Law in 1973,
where he taught until 2000. While at the University of Iowa College of Law, Professor Clinton served
as the Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law and as a founder and an Affiliated Faculty Member of the
American Indian and Native Studies Program of the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts. For
the 2001-2003 academic years, Professor Clinton was appointed the Barry Goldwater Chair of American
Institutions at Arizona State University.
Pro Tem Judge - Joseph J. Wiseman
Judge Wiseman
Judge Joseph J. Wiseman graduated from the U.C.L.A. and the University of Oregon School of Law. He serves as the Chief Justice of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, the Chief Judge of the Northern California Intertribal Court System, and the Chief Judge of the Tule River Tribe. He also serves as Judge Pro Tem for the Karuk Tribe.
Judge Wiseman is an active member of the National American Indian Court Judges Association, where he serves on the Board of Directors Steering Committee, and is the Vice-President of the California Tribal Court Judges Association. He also is a member of the California Tribal-State Court Forum, and the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association.
Judge Wiseman has been teaching Federal Indian Law at the Empire College School of in Santa Rosa, California for over fifteen years, and has presented at numerous professional conferences in the areas of tribal court jurisdiction, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and Indian water rights. Before becoming a Tribal Court judge, Judge Wiseman practiced complex criminal and civil litigation in the federal trial and appellate courts nationwide.
Appellate Court
The Appellate Court of the San Manuel Tribal Court hears appeals from final judgments and other final orders
of the Trial Court. The Appellate Court is comprised of a three-judge appellate panel.
Presiding Appellate Judge – Michael Taylor
Judge Taylor
Judge Taylor was appointed to the Appellate Court in September 2009.
Judge Taylor obtained his law degree from the University of California at Davis in 1969. He is a member
of the bars of the Tulalip Tribes, the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Tribes, the Colville Confederated
Tribes, California, Washington, New Mexico, Oregon and the Supreme Court of the United States. He
sits as an Appellate Judge for the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota.
Judge Taylor resides in Washington State where he is employed as general counsel for the Tulalip Tribes
of Washington.
Appellate Judge - Deborah DuBray
Judge DuBray
Judge DuBray was appointed to the Appellate Court in September 2009.
Deborah DuBray is Sicangu Lakota and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe located in South Dakota.
Judge DuBray obtained both her Juris Doctorate and Master’s degree in Political Science from
the University of South Dakota in 1993. She is a member of the State Bar of South Dakota and is licensed
to practice before the U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota.
Judge DuBray served as a Legislative Aide in the United States Senate prior to entering private practice.
She established the DuBray Law Office in 1997 to represent Native clients and tribal interests
and continues to represent clients in South Dakota. Judge DuBray served as Chief Judge for other
tribal courts over the past six years in North Dakota, Minnesota and Oregon.
Appellate Judge - Job Serebrov
Judge Serebrov
Job Serebrov is currently the director of the Office of Quality Assurance, Arkansas Department of Human
Services. Prior to that, he was the principal of The Serebrov Law Firm. His areas of practice and
consulting included appeals and agricultural, environmental, natural resource, regulatory, and bioenergy
law and policy. Aside from his legal practice, Job served as a law clerk to U.S. Circuit Court Judge
Lavenski Smith, held an appointment under Gov. Mike Huckabee as deputy director of the Arkansas Department
of Environmental Quality and held an appointment under President George W. Bush as a deputy under
secretary/deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, primarily handling environmental
and natural resource regulatory matters and served as acting deputy general counsel at American Farm
Bureau.
Alternate Appellate Judge - Anthony Little
Judge Little
Judge Anthony Little is a member of the Sichangu Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe). He is a 1976 graduate of
the Arizona State College of Law and is admitted to practice in New Mexico since 1979. He was a staff
attorney for Indian Pueblo legal Services, Inc. and Executive Director prior to entering private
practice in Albuquerque, NM in 1994. He is admitted to practice in many of the Tribes in New Mexico.
He has been a judge for tribes in New Mexico. He was the Chief Magistrate for the Fort Mojave Indian
Community, 2007-2009 and is currently the Chief Judge for Ak-Chin Indian Community and an Appellate
Judge for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
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San Manuel Bar Admission Forms
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Petition for Review: Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation
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Request for Hearing: Workers Compensation, Dispute of Decision
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Parties and prospective parties to Tribal Court actions may request copies of applicable Tribal laws by submitting
a
Request for Tribal Ordinances form to the Clerk of the Court for processing. Such requests
are decided by the Judiciary Committee on a case-by-case basis. To obtain a copy of this request form,
click here or contact the Clerk of the Court.
A party or prospective party may review a copy of applicable Tribal laws at the Tribal Court prior to completing
the
Request for Tribal Ordinances. To do so, contact the Clerk of the Court to schedule an
appointment.
Tribal members may obtain a copy of Tribal laws at the Tribal Court upon showing proof of Tribal membership to
the Clerk of the Court.
The following tribal laws have been approved for release on this website:
The following tribal court rules have been approved for release on this website:
- Please click here for the current Schedule of Court fees.
- Please click here for the current Schedule of Animal Control Fees.
- Please click here for the current Waiver of Court Fees form.
Parties filing documents by electronic mail may send court documents to tribalcourtfilings@sanmanuel.com in PDF format with the case number and the name of the document in the subject line. The Clerk of the
Court shall deliver written confirmation to the filing party of the date and time the email program recorded
receipt of the filing. Applicable filing fees for documents filed electronically shall be delivered to the court within five (5) Court Days of the written confirmation provided by the Court clerk. Electronic Filings received after
the Court’s scheduled business hours shall be deemed to have been received as of the next business
day.