The Yakama Nation of Washington filled four appellate court positions, after four years of not having an appeals process for the tribal court.

Chairman Louis Cloud tied the move to a series of lawsuits filed by tribal members in federal court. The cases note that the tribe has lacked an appellate court and criticize the tribal judicial process as slow-moving. A report from the National Indian Justice Center found systemic problems with the tribal court.

Serving on the appellate court will be Julian Pinkham, Ne'sha Jackson and Lorintha Umtuch, all former judges for the tribe. Ray Slockish, a former member of tribe's code of ethics board, was also appointed. The judges will serve four-year terms.

Get the Story:
Quartet named tribal appellate court judges (The Yakima Herald-Republic 2/17)

Relevant Links:
National Indian Justice Center - http://nijc.indian.com

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