2012: Four Directions Fights a Racially Compromised Federal Judge

The Problem

When Chief Montana U.S. District Court Judge Richard Cebull dismissed the voting rights suit Wandering Medicine v. McCulloch, Custer, et al. in 2012, it appeared Native voters would never get equal access to the ballot box.

But Judge Cebull had a well-known problem that Four Directions was about to make a lot bigger in order to bring justice to Native Americans who had been denied it by this racially compromised judge.

The Four Directions Approach

Four Directions understands the importance of a strong public relations strategy to build power in the face of temporary setbacks. Before Wandering Medicine v. McCulloch, Custer, et al., Judge Cebull was already under investigation by the 9th Circuit Court for sending a racist email about President Barack Obama. Cebull chose to hear the Wandering Medicine case despite his well-known racism.

Four Directions built the strongest possible case by soliciting support from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Congress of American Indians, and the American Civil Liberties Union. With clear facts on the ground favoring the plaintiffs, an unfavorable ruling would reinforce Cebull’s racially compromised position. After Cebull dismissed the Wandering Medicine suit, the Committee for Judicial Conduct and Disability revealed that Cebull had sent hundreds of disparaging emails against Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, women, and LGBT people from his chamber computer.

In January of 2014, Four Directions called out Cebull for his racially compromised ruling, demanded the Committee for Judicial Conduct and Disability release his racist emails, and helped appeal Cebull’s decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Result

After dozens of local and national stories engineered by Four Directions, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Cebull’s ruling, Cebull was forced into retirement, and the case was later settled at the District Court level before the 2014 general election.

After further Four Directions litigation, the 9th District Court ordered Judge Cebull’s emails to be preserved through 2019.