Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

December 16, 2014

Swan case dismissed, Colville Members for Justice Respond

Swan v. Colville Business Council Dismissed
Colville Members for Justice Respond
By Joe Fry, Media Coordinator
Colville Members for Justice
Dec. 13, 2014

Further action now being considered, which may include federal complaint
Yvonne Swan
In an order filed on December 2, 2014, in the Court of Appeals of The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Chief Justice Anita Dupris dismissed Swan v. Colville Business Council, effectively ending the first phases of a court battle that began in May 2013.
In a press release dated December 8, 2014, Colville Business Council Chairman Jim Boyd announced the decision much to the disappointment of the Colville Members for Justice.
Yvonne Swan, the named plaintiff in the original civil complaint, responded by saying “With this recent adverse court decision there is even more determination to show the injustices within the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.”
Swan, represented by attorney Mark Carroll of Chelan, states that she was not given an opportunity to present physical and eyewitness evidence that may have changed the outcome of the case, as the court dismissed the case at the appellate level after hearing only oral arguments.
At this time Swan and the Colville Members for Justice are researching and discussing further action, up to and including a complaint in United States Federal Court.
Swan elaborated on this possibility by saying “We the Colville Members for Justice had to exhaust all of our legal options on the tribal level before going to federal court. At this time the [Colville Members for Justice] are discussing strategic measures toward that end.”
Colville Members For Justice is a coalition of individual tribal members united to promote justice and governmental transparency within the Colville Confederated Tribes.

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