Hecker Fink Files Amicus Brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Behalf of Professor Ellen D. Katz and the Voting Rights Initiative in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe

On October 6, 2025, Hecker Fink LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professor Ellen D. Katz and the Voting Rights Initiative in support of the cert petition at the U.S. Supreme Court in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe. 

The brief, which can be read here, argues that the Supreme Court should grant the cert petition and vacate the Eighth Circuit’s holding that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act creates no private right enforceable through Section 1983. That ruling, in combination with a 2023 case finding that Section 2 itself contained no private right of action, would end private enforcement of Section 2 in that Circuit. The brief explains that such a result would contradict over fifty years of settled practice in courts nationwide. It further explains that private enforcement alone accounted for 85% of all Section 2 cases since 1982, and that the federal government acted alone in only 3% of Section 2 cases filed in that same period. Finally, the brief explains that Section 2 enforcement actions have since 1982 focused on ensuring minority communities have access to the political process in their county, city, and school boards, with a particular emphasis on the importance of those Section 2 enforcement actions in the Eighth Circuit for Native American plaintiffs. 

The Hecker Fink team includes Joshua Matz, Trisha Anderson, Jeffrey Then, and Brian Remlinger.