Summary
The Oklahoma Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction and granted declaratory relief concerning tribal gaming compacts entered by the Governor with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town. The Court held that the compacts were invalid under Oklahoma law because they contained provisions outside the Model Tribal Gaming Compact and had not received approval from the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations. The decision addressed separation of powers and the statutory limits on the Governor’s authority to negotiate and enter tribal gaming agreements.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court should assume original jurisdiction over the petition for declaratory relief.
- Whether the executive branch validly entered into the tribal gaming compacts with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town.
- Whether compacts containing provisions different from the statutory Model Compact required prior approval by the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations.
Holdings
- The Oklahoma Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction because the petition presented an issue of public interest in urgent need of judicial determination.
- The executive branch did not validly enter into the compacts. Under Oklahoma law, the executive branch could negotiate within the statutory bounds of the Model Compact or proceed under its general statutory authority with prior approval from the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations; it did neither.
Key quotations
“For the new compacts to be valid under Oklahoma law, the Executive branch must have negotiated the new compacts within the statutory bounds of the Model Tribal Gaming Compact (Model Compact)1 or obtained the approval of the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations.” (¶ 3)
“Because the Model Compact is a state statute, the provisions of the gaming compact are fixed and not negotiable except by Legislative amendment.” (¶ 7)
“Without proper approval by the Joint Committee, the new tribal gaming compacts are invalid under Oklahoma law.” (¶ 12)
Factual background
The Governor's executive branch entered into tribal gaming compacts with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town. The compacts were submitted to the United States Department of the Interior and were deemed approved by inaction only to the extent consistent with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The compacts contained terms different from or outside Oklahoma's statutory Model Tribal Gaming Compact, and the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations had not approved them.
Procedural history
The petition was filed directly in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Court assumed original jurisdiction under the Oklahoma Constitution and its publici juris doctrine, then granted declaratory relief declaring the compacts invalid.