Cottier v. City of Martin

Taxation of Costs Order in Cottier v. City of Martin

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order granting the City $1000 from the plaintiffs:

DCT Order on Taxation of Costs

The City had asked for almost $20,000. An excerpt:

Under the unusual facts ofthis case, the Court in its discretion awards a portion of the costs to the Defendant in the amount of $1,000.00 against Plaintiff Pearl Cottier and awards no costs against Rebecca Three Stars as she is a poor person who brought an action on behalf of other Native American voters with no possibility ofmonetary gain for herself. Pearl Cottier may well have trouble paying her bills, but she is not a poor person. She, too, stood to gain nothing financially from this lawsuit brought in South Dakota on behalf of not only herself and other Native American voters in Martin, but also all Native Americans voters in South Dakota from a precedent point of view. Ms. Cottier is required to pay $1,000.00 in costs to the Defendants.

ACLU Voting Rights Project Cert Petition in Cottier v. City of Martin

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. Lower court materials here.

Questions presented:

1. Was the district court’s original finding that the plaintiffs had not established one of the threshold factors for a finding of vote dilution under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973, properly before the Eighth Circuit upon review of a superseding final judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor after remand from a prior panel?
2. Is statistical evidence necessary to prove legally significant racially polarized voting under Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986)?
3. Do minority voters have an equal opportunityto elect aldermen and alderwomen of their choice when the evidence shows that minority voters have had some success in electing their preferred candidates—but only in nonmunicipal elections, when “minority” voters constitute a majority of the electorate, or when their preferred candidates are white?

Cottier v. City of Martin En Banc Materials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

As Indianz reported, the Eighth Circuit sitting en banc reversed a decision favoring the Indian plaintiffs in a Section 2 vote dilution case. Of note, the en banc panel reversed the decision of a prior panel establishing the law of the case, and allowed the City to file a late petition for en banc review. Where is the rule of law?

Here are the en banc materials. The merits briefs are here.

City of Martin En Banc Petition

Cottier Response to Motion for More Time to File En Banc Petition

Cottier Opposition to En Banc Petition

City of Martin Reply

Cottier v. City of Martin – Voting Rights Act Attorney Fees Order – South Dakota

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The district court for the District of South Dakota issued an order granting an award for around $600K in attorney fees to the plaintiffs in a voting rights case in Indian Country. Here are the materials:

DCT Order on the Merits [Dec. 2006]

DCT Order on Attorney Fees