Navajo Nation Supreme Court Justices
Chief Justice Herb Yazzie
Mr. Yazzie is a member and the Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation. He was confirmed as Chief Justice by the Navajo Nation Council on April 21, 2005.
Mr. Yazzie was legal counsel for the Kayenta Township, a home rule municipality on the Navajo Nation. Mr. Yazzie assisted in the establishment of this unique municipality; it is currently the only Navajo community with home-rule authority and the only Navajo community operating on revenue from a local sales tax.
The Chief Justice has also served the Navajo Nation as its Attorney General and as its Chief Legislative Counsel. He also was an attorney for the Yavapai-Apache Nation near Camp Verde.
Mr. Yazzie is a 1975 graduate of Arizona State University College of Law. He has been a Utah State Bar member since 1976. He also is a member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association.
Justice Lorene B. Ferguson
The Honorable Justice Lorene Ferguson was appointed Associate Justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court on October 15, 2001.
Born and raised on the Navajo Reservation, Justice Ferguson received a bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 1965 and law degree in the spring of 1983 from the University of New Mexico. Upon receiving her law degree Justice Ferguson returned to the Navajo Reservation as a law clerk and staff attorney for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice.
In the fall of 1992, Justice Ferguson was appointed as a District Court Judge. In 2001, she was appointed as Associate Justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court. From March 2004 to November 2004, Justice Ferguson assisted periodically as Acting Chief Justice. From December 2004 to April 2005, Justice Ferguson served the Navajo Nation as Acting Chief Justice.
Justice Ferguson has served as faculty for the Judicial College in Reno, Nevada on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Peacemaking.
Justice Louise Grant
Louise Grant is from Standing Horse (Dilkon, Arizona). She is from the Tséníjíkiní (Cliff Dwelling Clan) and born for Táchii'nii (Red-Running-Into-The-Water Clan). Her maternal grandfather’s clan is Tótsóhnii (Big Water Clan), and her paternal grandfather’s clan is Kinyaa'nii (Towering House People).
Justice Grant was confirmed as a District Court Judge by the Navajo Nation Council on December 30, 2005. Before becoming a judge, Judge Grant was a tribal court advocate in both civil and criminal cases. Among other things, she represented the Navajo Nation in Indian Child Welfare Act cases, worked as a public defender for adults and juveniles, and she prosecuted juvenile sexual abuse cases. She remains an active member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association.