Judge: Council violated Diné code
Says governing body did not follow the rules

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — No individual and no government authority is above the law, and the Navajo Nation Council falsely enacted a resolution without following the law when it placed President Joe Shirley Jr. on leave, District Court Judge Geraldine Benally ruled in a final order issued Wednesday.

The order explains the court’s conclusions following a Dec. 14 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the actions of Council and Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan were within the scope of their authority.

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