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8/27/2020 1 National Indian Law Library (NILL) This Court does not have diversity jurisdiction over Goodface’s case because Indian tribes are not foreign states or citizens of any state, Gaming World Int’l v. White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians, 317 F.3d 840, 847 (8th Cir. 2003), and the individual members of the Election Board are, like Goodface, citizens of South Dakota, Doc. 1 at 5. Hours & Location DISCLAIMER Contact Us PRIVACY STATEMENT https://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/federal/documents/goodface_v_lowerbrule.html NARF 3/3

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Goodface v. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe 2020 Election Board

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether a Federal Court may hear a Tribal candidate eligibility claim under the federal question doctrine?

Alleged Acts: The petitioner filed suit against the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe 2020 Election Board stating that the Board denied her petition for candidacy in the September 2020 Tribal Election despite her satisfaction of the eligibility requirements. Further, the petitioner further states that she was never informed of her ineligibility or right to appeal when she asked about her petition in July of 2020.

Procedural history: The petitioner then presented her case to the Lower Brule Sioux Tribal Council in August 2020, but that the Council did not reinstate her candidacy. The petitioner requested an expedited hearing to enforce her constitutional right to due process and equal protection and permit her to run for candidacy on September 1, 2020. Further, the petitioner requested that the court declare the election process unlawful and disqualify the Election Board members for violating the law and award her damages.

Summary: The court determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the claim because the court could only decide cases that involve the Constitution and statutes that authorized such jurisdiction. The petitioner alleged that the case involved a federal question under the Indian Civil Rights Act, but the court determined that this was not the case because the only relief available in the ICRA is a writ of habeas corpus, not the enforcement of civil rights. Thus the due process and equal protection claims were not applicable to tribal government and were not sufficient to establish a federal question for the to proceed.

Conclusion: The court ultimately dismissed the case for lack of justification over the matter.

Legal Issue(s)

Candidate Registration
Civil Procedure
Indigenous Persons

Applicable Law(s): Indian Civil Rights Act.

Region: Americas

Country: United States of America

Language of Decision

English

Court: Trial Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Aug 25, 2020

Geolocation

Latitude: 44.07057319000349

Longitude: -99.5943714076678

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

Goodface v. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe 2020 Election Board.pdf
english
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