More judge candidates
needed for Navajo

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — With only three applicants for three vacant district court judge positions, the Navajo Nation’s judicial branch needs more would-be judges. The number of applicants must be increased before the Navajo Nation Council’s Judiciary Committee can submit names to the president.

The closing date for receiving applications is Sept. 26.
Anyone wishing to apply can contact Ed Martin, director of judicial administration, at (928) 871-6762 to obtain the application packet.

Martin said that the committee already interviewed the three applicants and they are still in the running, but the committee wants more applicants so it can send more names to the president for him choose from.

The Judiciary Committee will meet in Shiprock on Oct. 2-3 to visit the district court. During the two-day meeting, the committee is looking to discuss the conditions of appropriation and legislative concerns for the judicial branch that were a part of the FY 2009 budget passed by Council and sent to President Joe Shirley.

As the oversight committee for the judicial branch, the committee developed two conditions of appropriations. The first is for each of the Navajo Nation’s judicial districts to establish goal statements and program performance criteria for reporting to and monitoring the judicial administration by the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2009.

Also by the end of the first quarter, the committee wants the judicial administration to develop a priority listing of all renovations and new construction and submit to the Navajo Nation Capital Improvement Office for funding consideration.

The committee issued six legislative concerns that it would like to see addressed, including having the judicial branch and the tribe’s Division of Public Safety to determine an alternative process for filing and serving of court documents.

The concern came about because of the long amount of time it takes for staff to deliver documents, which takes away valuable time from employees, Kee Allen Begay, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said.

There are three legislative concerns with the peacemaking program. One of the legislative concerns states that the judicial administration and peacemaking program will develop a case management system for its cases and provide more public education on cases resolved.

Another concern states that the same two entities should conduct a quality study of the peacemaking program to determine if permanent peacemakers can be hired to provide services instead of the current process where the parties and the chapters select the peacemakers.

The committee also wants the peacemaking program to collaborate with surrounding schools to host traditional ceremonial activities for youth at the beginning and end of the school year “to promote spirituality and positive living.”

The fifth legislative concern of the committee is the funding formula that is used to fund the judicial districts. The committee wants the chief justice’s office and the judicial administration to explore the development of a formula that determines the cost of each court case.

The final legislative concern states that the judicial administration shall implement other methods of payments for traffic citations and courts fines. Right now, Begay said, the courts only take money orders and only in the district where the person was cited.