Montana court supports county official who ran for Crow chairman

Friday, January 7, 2011  

An elected county official did not violate the state constitution by running for chairman of the Crow Tribe, the Montana Supreme Court ruled.

Leroy Not Afraid was serving as Big Horn County Justice of the Peace when he filed for tribal office. The state Judicial Standards Commission initiated an investigation and recommended that Not Afraid be sanctioned for failing to resign from his county post under Article VII, Section 10 of the state constitution.

But the Supreme Court said the provision regarding "public office" does not apply to tribal governments because they are separate sovereigns. "[T]ribal offices are creations of another sovereign and not considered public offices of the state," the majority wrote in the decision.

"Here, the office of the Crow chairmanship was created by the Crow Tribe and only tribal members are eligible to run for or to vote for the position. Members of the Montana public at large are not," the decision stated.

Not Afraid did not win the chairmanship of his tribe.

Get the Story:
Supreme Court ruling backs Big Horn County justice of the peace (The Billings Gazette 1/7)
Supreme Court dismisses Not Afraid judicial standards complaint (Big Horn County News January 2011)