The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear Cottier v. City of Martin, an Indian voting rights case from South Dakota.

Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe said the system of districts in the city of Martin diluted the Indian vote. A federal judge ruled for the city but the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals revived the case in 2006 and the Indian plaintiffs eventually won.

The city appealed and the 8th Circuit once again backed the plaintiffs. But an en banc panel of the court agreed to rehear the case and reopened issues that had been settled in 2006.

In May of this year, the 8th Circuit ruled 7-4 that the case should have been dismissed. The plaintiffs appealed but the Supreme Court, without comment, rejected the petition.

8th Circuit Opinion:
Cottier v. Martin (May 5, 2010)

Earlier 8th Circuit Decision:
Cottier v. Martin (December 16, 2008)

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