Friday: Law & Order Committee Meets & Injunction to be Filed
Alan Tsingine at Monday’s Lechee VRC meeting
By Mike Reilley
This Friday (Apr 3) the Navajo Nation’s Law & Order Committee will meet in Tohajiilee in New Mexico (outside Albuquerque) to consider the legislation introduced last week by Navajo Nation Council delegate, Leonard Tsosie.
Legislation # 0103-15 seeks the removal of the Nation’s Chief Justice, Herb Yazzie. The twenty page legislation sites seven reasons why Yazzie should be removed from office.
See Legislation # 0103-15:
http://www.navajonationcouncil.org/Legislations/2015/MAR/0103-15.pdf
The Law & Order Committee (LOC) will decide whether or not to approve the legislation and send it back to the Nation’s Council. If it is approved, Council would then hold a “hearing-type” session, giving Chief Justice Yazzie a chance to defend himself against the accusations.
The Navajo Voter’s Rights Coalition is asking for Navajo residents 18 & older to fill-out a form (see below) that will be given to the LOC prior to their meeting Friday. The form allows for residents to make a statement about the situation involving Herb Yazzie.
If you’d like to have a form to fill-out, email:
You must have it ready to go no later than Wednesday night.
Arrangements will be made so that you can fill-out a form and have it in Tohajiilee in time for Friday’s meeting.
Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation’s Board of Elections Supervisors have hired an attorney. And also on this Friday, they will file an injunction to halt the April 21 Presidential election between Joe Shirley Jr. and Russell Begaye.
The injunction will be filed in district court, not the Nation’s Supreme Court!
The special election of April 21 is highly controversial, considering the fact that the Navajo Nation Council passed legislation earlier in March calling for a referendum on “fluency” to be held prior to the Presidential election. The legislation was signed by President Ben Shelly.
But the Nation’s Supreme Court stepped-in, led by Chief Justice Herb Yazzie, and ignored the legislation, and the referendum, and instead called for the April 21st election with no referendum on fluency.
