Three former Alaska tribal council members have urged the Ninth Circuit to overturn an Alaska federal judge's decision calling for them to stop misrepresenting themselves as tribal officers, saying the tribe's federal contract doesn't give the court authority to weigh in on its leadership dispute.
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Alaska Judge Keeps Ruling On Newtok Village Leadership
Law360 (February 26, 2021, 7:50 PM EST) An Alaska federal judge has refused to upend his 2015 decision that three former leaders of the Newtok Village must stop misrepresenting themselves as tribal officers, saying the tribe s governing council had properly raised claims under federal law.
Andy T. Patrick, Joseph Tommy and Stanley Tom had sought to lift U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline s 2015 injunction against them, claiming their dispute over leadership of the federally recognized Newtok Village wasn t cut out for federal court.
Judge Beistline said in a decision Thursday that his injunction and default judgment against the three defendants for failure to defend against the suit.