Mary Kathryn is an attorney whose practice focuses on restoring tribal jurisdiction and sovereignty to protect Native women and children. Her practice focuses primarily on ending violence against Native women, and she is a subject matter expert on the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Persons (MMIP) crisis. She has drafted numerous appellate briefs in federal courts, including federal appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court.
In 2013, she represented seventeen current and former Members of Congress in an amicus brief submitted in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (the “Baby Veronica case”), before the United States Supreme Court. This amicus brief explained the legislative history of the Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”) and argued why the ICWA constitutes an exercise of Congress’s constitutional authority under the Indian Commerce Clause.
Mary Kathryn has significant experience in briefing other issues of constitutional law related to federal Indian law, as well as cases that implicate statutory rights under Indian rights laws such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA”). One of her assets is the depth of her trial work, as she has prepared for and litigated cases in the New York Supreme Court, United States Bankruptcy Court, and federal district courts across the country.