JoAnn Jayne rejected: LOC ends chief justice’s tenure
WINDOW ROCK
After 2,707 days, 13 hearings, two Navajo Nation Councils, and a pandemic, the Navajo Nation Law and Order Committee voted this week not to confirm JoAnn Bitsilly Jayne as chief justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, ending her time on the Nation’s highest bench.
The committee voted 3-0, with Delegate Nathan Notah abstaining, to reject Jayne’s elevation to permanent status following a prolonged probationary period that began in 2018. The action is final under tribal law and cannot be overturned by the Executive Branch.
“The public’s voice was central in this process,” said Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton, the Law and Order Committee chair, in a press release issued June 24 by Navajo Nation Council Communications. “We listened, and we acted accordingly. The integrity of our judiciary is not negotiable.”
To read the full article, please see the June 12, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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