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Jerry C. Straus
Partner
Mr. Straus has worked in the field of Indian law since 1963.
He led the successful legislative efforts to return the 48,000-acre
Blue Lake land to the Taos Pueblo in 1970, and the 26,000-acre
Santa Cruz Spring Tract to the Pueblo de Cochiti in 1984.
Mr. Straus assisted the Seminole Tribe of Florida in successfully
negotiating a landmark water rights compact with the State
of Florida. Through his efforts, the Seminole Tribe subsequently
protected its water rights in administrative proceedings against
large corporate landowners whose activities threatened to
flood tribal lands and degrade water quality. In 1999, Mr.
Straus led the Firm’s legislative efforts to secure
congressional approval of a $32 million award to the Menominee
Tribe of Wisconsin for damages the Tribe suffered as a result
of the termination of its federal trust status in 1961.
Mr. Straus specializes in representing tribes who conduct
high stakes gaming and assists those tribes in defining their
rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). He represented
the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut in its successful efforts
to establish a major casino in that state. He was co-counsel
to the Seminole Tribe in the 1996 case of Seminole Tribe of
Florida v. State of Florida, the first IGRA case to reach
the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Straus is a major strategist
in tribal opposition to federal legislation that would curtail
Indian gaming rights.
After two years with the Department of Justice, Mr. Straus
began his Indian law career at the firm of Wilkinson, Cragun
& Barker in 1963. With Charles Hobbs and Bobo Dean, he
co-founded the present firm in 1982.
Mr. Straus earned his LL.B. from Columbia University Law
School in 1961, and his B.A. degree from Columbia University
in 1958. After graduating from law school, Mr. Straus
was selected for the Attorney General’s Honors Program
at the Department of Justice, and served two years in the
Appellate Section of the Department’s Civil Division
before joining the firm of Wilkinson, Cragun & Barker
in 1963. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin
Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Mr. Straus is a member of
the District of Columbia bar.
E-mail: jstraus@hsdwdc.com
Phone: (202) 822-8282
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