Navajo Supreme Court to hear oral arguments at Dartmouth
The Navajo Nation Supreme Court
will hold oral arguments on one of its winter term cases at Dartmouth on
Monday, Feb. 12 in Cook Auditorium, Tuck School of Business. The event begins
at 2 p.m. with a presentation by N. Bruce Duthu, adjunct professor of Native
American studies and of government at Dartmouth and professor of law at Vermont Law School, on the role of tribal
courts within the American legal system. Supreme Court oral arguments will
begin at 2:30 p.m. Both the presentation and the oral arguments are free and
open to the public.
Chief Justice Herb Yazzie
|
The case, Navajo Transport Services Inc. v. Schroeder, concerns the
authority of the Navajo courts to exercise judicial power over an
off-reservation party for conduct that produces harmful effects on the
reservation. The suit alleges that an off-reservation liquor store acted
negligently in selling liquor to a tribal member whose intoxication contributed
to a serious accident on the Navajo Reservation. The tribal district court in
Kayenta dismissed the lawsuit on grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction
over the liquor store. The appeal will be heard by the three justices of the
Navajo Nation Supreme Court-Chief Justice Herb Yazzie and Associate Justices
Lorene Ferguson and Irene Black-who normally hear cases in Window Rock, Ariz.,
the capital of the Navajo Nation.
According to Duthu, who teaches courses at both Dartmouth and Vermont Law
School on Native Americans and the law, the Navajo Supreme Court has held
previous formal hearings on the campuses of Harvard Law School and the
University of Michigan School of Law. "American Indian tribes occupy a
unique place in the U.S. legal system by virtue of their legal status as
distinct governments. This event provides a rare opportunity for members of the
general public to see and experience American Indian tribal sovereignty in
action," says Duthu. "The Navajo Supreme Court works actively to help
enhance our national literacy about tribal sovereignty. That broader community
and national education plays a vital role in bringing about greater
understanding and respect for tribal systems of justice."
Colin
Calloway, Samson Occom Professor of Native American Studies and
one of the organizers for the event adds, "This is a great chance to see
that when, in Native American studies, we talk about tribal sovereignty, we're
not just talking about abstract theory. We'll be able to see how justice works
in a Native American court. This is something that should be of interest to all
students."
After the Cherokee Nation, the Navajo
Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. It
has more than a quarter of a million enrolled members.
Public parking is available in the Dewey Parking Lot on the north end of
campus behind Dartmouth Medical School. A shuttle bus provides regular service
to the central campus, including to the Tuck School of Business. For further
information contact Linda M.
Welch at 646-3530 or N. Bruce
Duthu.
By GENEVIEVE HAAS
|
RSS/XML Feed