Summary
The Oklahoma Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction over a challenge to tribal gaming compacts entered into 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 terms differing from the statutory Model Tribal Gaming Compact and had not received approval from the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations. Declaratory relief was granted to the petitioners.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court should assume original jurisdiction over the petition for declaratory relief.
- Whether the Governor validly entered into the tribal gaming compacts under Oklahoma law when the compacts contained terms differing from the Model Compact and lacked Joint Committee approval.
- Whether the Governor's authority to negotiate tribal gaming compacts extended beyond the authority granted by the State-Tribal Gaming Act and other Oklahoma statutes.
Holdings
- The Oklahoma Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction because the petition presented an issue of public interest in urgent need of judicial determination.
- The Governor did not validly enter into the compacts because the Executive branch neither negotiated them within the statutory bounds of the Model Compact nor obtained the required approval of the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations.
- The Governor's authority to negotiate and enter tribal gaming compacts is statutory rather than inherent constitutional authority and is limited by the Legislature's enactments.
- A tribal gaming compact containing terms different from or outside the Model Compact operates as an enactment of new laws or an amendment to existing laws when entered without legislative authorization, and is invalid under Oklahoma law.
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 entered into tribal gaming compacts with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town. The compacts contained terms different from or outside the voter-approved Model Tribal Gaming Compact, and the Governor and Tribes did not obtain approval from the Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations before submitting the compacts to the Department of the Interior. The Tribes did not submit to the Court's jurisdiction. The Department of the Interior deemed the compacts approved by inaction only to the extent consistent with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Procedural history
The Oklahoma Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction under Okla. Const. art. VII, § 4, invoking its publici juris doctrine because the issue was of urgent public interest. Petitioners challenged compacts entered by the Governor with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town. The Court granted the requested declaratory relief and declared the compacts invalid under Oklahoma law.