Lawmakers hire lawyer for Fighting Sioux dispute

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Legislative leaders are asking the North Dakota Supreme Court if they can intervene in the Fighting Sioux nickname dispute.

The Legislative Management committee voted Friday to hire Bismarck attorney Pat Durick to represent the Legislature in the lawsuit. The committee includes legislative leaders. It handles the Legislature's business between sessions.

The Board of Higher Education is challenging a law that says the University of North Dakota's sports teams have to keep their Fighting Sioux nickname. The board wants to stop the issue from going to the voters in June.

House Republican majority leader Al Carlson says the lawsuit also challenges the Legislature's power to regulate North Dakota's higher education system. He says the Legislature needs to defend its own authority in the case.

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