Attorneys in the Keenen v. Aryan Nations trial speak
Because it is the 25th anniversary of the landmark Keenan v. Aryan Nations civil trial, Coeur d'Alene attorneys Ken Howard, Jr. and Norman Gissel will be the featured speakers for the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations (KCTFHR) 26th Annual Human Rights Banquet.
Ken and Norm, the two local attorneys who worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on the case, will speak at the 6 p.m. banquet on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn, 506 W. Appleway.
They will discuss how the trial came about, how they prepared for two years with Morris Dees and the SPLC legal team, how the trial proceeded and what followed the victory by plaintiffs Victoria and her son Jason Keenan.
"This trial was one of the most significant trials against Nazis and neo-Nazis in American history," said KCTFHR board secretary Tony Stewart.
Along with presenting details of this civil rights case, a victory over the forces of hate and criminal enterprise, the task force will honor "these two noble men," Tony added.
Norm became the Keenan's family attorney after Aryan Nations security guards attacked them on July 1, 1998. He recruited Morris and Ken to prepare a civil suit.
An Idaho native, Norm earned a bachelor's degree in 1962 from the University of Idaho (UI) and then served in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1967, leaving as a captain.
After serving two years as an Idaho assistant attorney general, he returned to the UI to earn a juris doctor degree in 1970. He was in private law practice from 1972 until 2014.
He served six years on the North Idaho College (NIC) board of trustees and received numerous awards—the Idaho State Bar Outstanding Service Award in 1989, the KCTFHR Civil Rights Award in 1998, the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen Award in 1998 and the YWCA Spokane Carl Maxey Racial Justice Award in 2000.
Norm was one of three Idahoans to whom the Idaho Secretary of State dedicated the 2014 Idaho Blue Book and was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame in 2016.
After Ken earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Kettering University in Flint, Mich., he worked in the Chrysler Corporation engineering department while attending law school at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he received his juris doctor degree In 1971, he began practicing law in Coeur d'Alene.
Ken retired recently from his career as one of Idaho's top tort lawyers. He has been recognized for more than 20 years as one of the "Best Lawyers in America in areas of Personal Injury and Products Liability" and he has been on the Super Lawyers magazine list since 2007. A member of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, he served as president from 1987 to 1988.
Along with working with Norm and the SPLC on the Aryan Nations case, he represented victims of the Sunshine Mine fire.
In 2000, KCTFHR presented him with their Civil Rights Award.
Throughout his career, the Martindale Hubbell national attorney rating organization rated Ken as AV, their highest rating. He has also served on the NIC Board of Trustees, including as its chair.
The 2025 Human Rights Banquet, in addition to hearing Norm and Ken speak, is honoring Ray and Jeanne Givens, who died in 2025, as this year's the human rights champions.
Tony summarized their contributions.
Ray won several major civil court cases that impacted many residents of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. From 1982 to 1984, he represented clients in a civil case claiming the 1982 Idaho State Legislative Reapportionment Act violated Idaho's Constitution. He prevailed in seven state and federal court decisions.
When NIC trustees brought a civil case against the Associated Students of North Idaho College (ASNIC) over a fee that students challenged, Norm, the ASNIC attorney, and Ray represented the students, and they won.
Ray also worked with the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case, in which the Tribe won a 5-4 decision, confirming their historical ownership of one-third of Coeur d'Alene Lake, Tony said.
Ray successfully represented Idaho families and children in Shoshone County who suffered lead poisoning from toxic emissions from mining operations of a major Texas corporation.
He also prevailed when he represented Native Alaskans who sued pipeline companies for running pipelines across their lands without paying appropriate fees.
Ray was emcee for the 1986 "Unity Rally" at NIC for Catholic Priest Bill Wassmuth after his home was bombed by Order II, a Neo-Nazi group."
He came from a family of lawyers. His father was a distinguished Boise attorney, and his grandfather was a justice on the Idaho State Supreme Court, said Tony.
Jeanne, a leader and model for women and the Native American community, served on the KCTFHR board, working to expand board seats for minority members, opposing the doctrine and threats from the Aryan Nations and successfully supporting KCTFHR anti-crime legislation as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives.
Serving on various local, state and national boards, Jeanne knew how to bring all groups to the table, Tony said.
"During her six years as a member of the NIC board of trustees, serving as chair part of the time, she worked to reach an agreement between the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and the college. She opposed the increase in student tuition and fees to keep costs down for low-income students," said Tony.
"She embraced human rights curricula, encouraged a collaborative governance policy among NIC's employees and students, brought prominent speakers to campus for the NIC Popcorn Forum and NIC-TV PBS Public Forum interviews and assisted with positive contacts between the college and state elected officials," he added.
In addition to the focus on the Keenans v. Aryan Nations trial at the banquet, Tony reported that Gonzaga University (GU) has become a collecting point for documents about the trial.
In 2020, Kristine Hoover, professor and chair of Gonzaga's Department of Organizational Leadership and School of Leadership Studies, and former director of the GU Institute for Action Against Hate, published a book, Countering Hate: Leadership Cases for Nonviolent Action, with the Kendall Hunt Publishing Co. The book describes in detail the KCTFHR visits to U.S. cities and communities facing threats from hate groups.
In 2024, Norm donated his records and papers from the trial to Gonzaga for use by researchers, especially future law students.
During the week of Jan. 13, 2025, the Gonzaga Law School offered a pilot class on the Keenans v. Aryan Nations civil trial using Norm's materials.
Retired law professor George Critchlow and Kristine taught the course on "Strategies for Countering Hate: How Lawyers and Community Activists Successfully Resisted the Aryan Nations in Northern Idaho," which included a day of lectures and discussions with Norm and Tony.
In their evaluation of the class, an overwhelming majority of the students supported making it a permanent course in the law school curricula.
At Kristine's suggestion, in June 2025, Gonzaga's Foley Library worked with their IT department to videotape Tony reading several speeches he has given around the U.S. Kristine also interviewed him on his life's work. The speeches and the interview are being prepared to post online at the Foley Library.
For information, call 208-765-3932 or visit idahohumanrights.org.
