Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al. v. Michael Howe, Secretary of State of North Dakota
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 23-3655 · judgment May 14, 2025
GVR'd · May 18, 2026
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 10301, is enforceable by private plaintiffs through 42 U.S.C. § 1983, an implied right of action, or both?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
John Ernest Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
For respondent
Philip Axt
Office of the North Dakota Attorney General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences
Amicus briefs
7 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jun 22 2026Judgment Issued.
- May 18 2026Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Louisiana v. Callais, 608 U. S. ___ (2026). Justice Jackson, dissenting: This case presents only the question of Section 2’s private enforceability, which our decision in Louisiana v. Callais, 608 U. S. ___ (2026), did not address. Thus I see no basis for vacating the lower court’s judgment. Instead, in light of Morse v. Republican Party of Va., 517 U. S. 186 (1996), I would summarily reverse.
- May 11 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/14/2026.
- Nov 05 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/21/2025.
- Oct 16 2025Rescheduled.
- Oct 08 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/7/2025.
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Former Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Professor Ellen D. Katz, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Voting Rights Historians filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Minnesota, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 06 2025Brief amici curiae of Bipartisan Group of Current and Former Members of Congress filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 03 2025Reply of petitioners Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, et al. filed.
- Oct 02 2025Brief amicus curiae of American Jewish Committee filed.
- Sep 19 2025Brief of respondent Michael Howe in opposition filed.
- Sep 02 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 6, 2025)