Joey Jayne

JoAnn Jayne (born September 4, 1957) is an American and Navajo lawyer and jurist who served in the Montana House of Representatives and later became the first Native American woman Justice Court Judge in Montana history. She was appointed Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation in 2017 and confirmed for a probationary term in 2018, a role she held until her permanent confirmation was denied in 2025.

Early life and education Jayne was born on September 4, 1957, in Shiprock, New Mexico, and was raised in Tohatchi. A member of the Navajo Nation, she grew up on the Navajo Reservation as one of eleven children in a three-bedroom home. Her clan affiliations are Tábaahá (Water's Edge Clan), born for Kinyaa'áanii (Towering House People). Jer maternal grandfather was from the Tódích'íi'nii (Bitter Water Clan) and her paternal grandfather was from the Tábaahá (Water's Edge Clan).

Jayne completed a bachelor's degree in agricultural industry from Arizona State University and a M.S. in watershed management and hydrology from the University of Arizona. She earned J.D. from the University of Montana Law School in May 1993. She is licensed to practice in Montana state and federal courts, as well as in five tribal courts, including the Navajo Nation.

In September 2013, her application for a District Court Judge position was rejected amid allegations of plagiarism. The issue arose from her submission of a court filing written by someone else as part of her application's writing sample, which Jayne described as an "inadvertent mistake made in her haste to finish her application packet." She ran for re-election as the incumbent Justice of the Peace in 2014.

In February 2025, public hearings for her permanent confirmation were postponed after the Navajo Nation Bar Association failed to submit its required evaluation reports. In June 2025, the Navajo Nation Law and Order Committee voted 3-0, with one abstention, to deny her permanent confirmation, officially ending her tenure on the court. She was replaced by interim chief justice Eleanor Shirley in July 2025.

Personal life Jayne moved to Montana in 1987 and as of 2014, had lived in Lake County since 1992. She has one son, Harley Tanner. As of January 2018, she resided in Tohatchi, New Mexico.