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Charles A. Hobbs
Partner
Mr. Hobbs began his Indian law career in 1958 after graduating
from law school and clerking for Circuit Justice Warren E.
Burger, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. He was initially with the firm of Wilkinson, Cragun
& Barker, which not only assisted tribal governments in
all areas of Indian law, but also prosecuted a large number
of tribal land claims under the Indian Claims Commission Act.
When that firm dissolved in 1982, Mr. Hobbs, along with Jerry
Straus and Bobo Dean, formed the present Firm.
Mr. Hobbs has been a named attorney in over 100 litigations
resulting in written decisions on Indian rights. He has argued
five Indian cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including
United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206 (1983), which established
that the United States must pay money damages when it breaches
its trust duties to Indians, and Menominee Tribe v. United
States, 391 U.S. 404 (1968), which held that when Congress
terminates Indian tribes, the tribes retain their treaty rights
unless specifically nullified. Mr. Hobbs also handled Rhode
Island v. Narragansett Tribe, 19 F.3d 685 (1994), in which
the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Tribe was
entitled to operate gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act.
Mr. Hobbs and William Norman were the drafters of Chapter
2 of Empowerment of Tribal Governments: Final Workgroup Report,
May 1999 (see also Mr. Norman’s biography).
Mr. Hobbs’ entire career has been spent working for
Indian tribes and organizations, and individual Indians. He
was honored in 1993 at the National Congress of American Indians’
national convention for distinguished service to the Indian
community.
Mr. Hobbs obtained his legal education at the George Washington
University (J.D., with honors, 1957), where he was Editor-in-Chief
of the George Washington Law Review. He obtained a B.A. degree
from Yale University in 1950, and attended Wharton Graduate
School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member
of the District of Columbia bar.
E-mail: chobbs@hsdwdc.com
Phone: (202) 822-8282
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