| ND seeks dismissal of lawsuit over Sioux nickname | |
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| Law Firm Bulletin - National Legal News |
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MINOT, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota's top prosecutor said the state will seek to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who want the University of North Dakota to keep its Fighting Sioux nickname. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem met with state Board of Higher Education members behind closed doors Thursday to update them on the state's response, which is expected to be filed by next week. A judge has barred the board from taking any action on the nickname issue until after a Dec. 9 hearing. Stenehjem said the tribal members will have a hard time with that order, issued last week by Northeast District Judge Michael Sturdevant. "They have to be able to show the judge they're going to win the lawsuit,'' he said. ``I think that's a difficult standard.'' The board has said it will retire the nickname unless the state's Sioux tribes sign 30-year agreements to support it. The board originally set an Oct. 1 deadline, but extended it to Nov. 30 because of tribal elections on the Standing Rock reservation. Pat Morley, an attorney for the tribal members, said the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes should have until Nov. 30, 2010, to decide whether to support the nickname and logo. The tribal members who filed the lawsuit ``are sincere in their belief,'' Stenehjem said, noting that he respects that. "But I also understand that more important than all of that is the constitutional principles that are at stake,'' Stenehjem said. ``The board has the responsibility for making these kinds of decisions.'' |
