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TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2002

A federal judge on Monday said Montana's 1992 political districts did not dilute the voting rights of Native Americans in the state.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro came to the same conclusion another federal judge made regarding the districts. An appeals court, however, said there were mistakes which required another look at the case.

Pro said he found none regarding four districts on the Blackfeet and Flathead reservations. But he said even if there were problems, there was nothing he could do because current elections would have been affected.

The state is redrawing the boundaries anyway due to Census 2000 figures.

Get the Story:
Indian voting-bias claim nixed by federal court (AP 1/29)

Get the Case:
Old Person v. Cooney (Ninth Circuit. No 98-36157. October 2000)

Related Stories:
Mont. voting rights on trial again (11/6)
Native voting case overturned (10/30)