SCOTUS Cert Stage Materials in Turtle Mountain Ojibwe Efforts to Uncover Republican Legislators’ Racial Animus

Here are the cert stage materials in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. North Dakota Legislative Assembly:

Cert Petition

Republican Governors Amicus Brief in Opposition

Questions presented:

1. Should this Court vacate the Eighth Circuit’s decision under United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950)? 2. Are state legislators absolutely immune from civil discovery, including from producing documents and communications that involved or were shared with third parties, or is the state legislative privilege a qualified one, based on principles of comity, that yields where important federal interests are at stake?

Lower court materials here.

Split Eighth Circuit Panel Shields Communications between North Dakota Legislators and Constituents that Probably Shows Racial Animus against Native Voters

Here are the materials in In re: North Dakota Legislative Assembly:

Opinion

Petition for Writ of Mandamus

Turtle Mountain Opposition

The underlying case is here.