Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Michael Howe, in his Official Capacity as Secretary of State of North Dakota

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 23-3697
___________________________
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians; Spirit Lake Tribe; Wesley Davis;
Zachery S. King; Collette Brown
Plaintiffs - Appellees
v.
Michael Howe, in his Official Capacity as Secretary of State of North Dakota
Defendant - Appellee
North Dakota Legislative Assembly
Movant - Appellant
William R. Devlin, Representative also known as Bill Devlin; Senator Ray
Holmberg, Representative; Senator Richard Wardner, Representative; Senator
Nicole Poolman, Representative; Michael Nathe, Representative; Terry Jones,
Representative; Claire Ness, Senior Counsel at the North Dakota Legislative
Council
Movants
___________________________
No. 24-1171
___________________________
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians; Spirit Lake Tribe; Wesley Davis;
Zachery S. King; Collette Brown
Plaintiffs - Appellees

-- 1 of 3 --

-2-
v.
Michael Howe, in his Official Capacity as Secretary of State of North Dakota
Defendant - Appellee
North Dakota Legislative Assembly
Movant - Appellant
William R. Devlin, Representative also known as Bill Devlin; Senator Ray
Holmberg, Representative; Senator Richard Wardner, Representative; Senator
Nicole Poolman, Representative; Michael Nathe, Representative; Terry Jones,
Representative; Claire Ness, Senior Counsel at the North Dakota Legislative
Council
Movants
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of North Dakota - Eastern
____________
Submitted: October 22, 2024
Filed: May 14, 2025
____________
Before COLLOTON, Chief Judge, GRUENDER and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
____________
GRUENDER, Circuit Judge.
The facts of this case are set out in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
v. Howe, No. 23-3655, ___ F.4th ___ (8th Cir. May 14, 2025). In this appeal, North
Dakota’s Legislative Assembly seeks to intervene in Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa Indians v. Howe to appeal the district court’s order imposing the remedial
map. Because we concluded in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe

-- 2 of 3 --

-3-
that the plaintiffs do not have a cause of action and, therefore, vacated the judgment
of the district court, we dismiss this appeal as moot.
COLLOTON, Chief Judge, dissenting.
Having voted to affirm in No. 23-3655, I do not believe that these appeals
should be dismissed as moot. I would affirm the district court’s order denying the
North Dakota Legislative Assembly’s motion to intervene on the ground that the
motion was untimely. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24; United Food & Com. Workers Union,
Local No. 663 v. U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 36 F.4th 777, 780 (8th Cir. 2022). I would
affirm the district court’s order denying the Assembly’s motion for extension of time
to file a remedial plan, because the Assembly was afforded a reasonable opportunity
to submit a plan, and no party to the case sought an extension of time.
______________________________

-- 3 of 3 --