CHEROKEE NATION
P.O. Box 948
Tahlequah, OK 74465-0918
(918) 456-0671
Feb, 3, 1998
Ralph F. Keen
Judicial Appeals Tribunal
602 Magnolia Drive
Tahlequah, OK 74464
Dwight W. Birdwell
Judicial Appeals Tribunal
217 North Harvey, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Philip H. Viles, Jr.
P.O. Box 700414
Tulsa, OK 74170
Tina Jordan
Cherokee Nation District court
P.O. Box 1097
Tahlequah, OK 74465-1097
Drew Wilcoxen
Cherokee Nation District Court
P.O. Box 1097
Tahlequah, OK 74465-1097
Dwayne Little John
Cherokee Nation District Court
P.O. Box 1097
Tahlequah, OK 74465-1097
Dear Justices and Judges:
On October 25, 1997, the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council appointed a Special Committee consisting of Council Members Bill John Baker, Mary Cooksey, Troy Poteete and Barbara Starr-Scott, to review various governmental problems facing the Nation and propose solution to these problems to the full Council As part of this mission, one of the charges given this Committee was to review Title 20 of the Cherokee Nation Code concerning the Judiciary, as well as the operations of the Judiciary in general As part of our deliberations, we met with Chief Justice Ralph Keen and Justice Philip Viles on December 18, 1997 and received their comments on these matters On January 29, 1998, we also heard comments from Principal Chief Joe Byrd, who agreed with the Special Committee that the Cherokee Nation Judicial Branch should function as a unified court system.
After listening to and considering all of these comments, and after much discussion among the Special Committee members, the Committee made a determination that the current impasse affecting the judiciary must be resolved as soon as possible for the good of the Cherokee people Therefore, we respectfully recommend to the Cherokee Judicial Branch that:
(a) The Judicial Appeals Tribunal and the District court, in their entirety, and all personnel, functions, files, equipment and any other property of the Judicial Branch be located in the Cherokee Nation Courthouse on or before February 18, 1998.
(b) The Judicial Appeals Tribunal and the District Court should accommodate each other with sufficient office space and support personnel in the Cherokee Nation Courthouse in order to carry out their judicial duties.
We request that the justices of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal and the judges of the District Court provide this Committee, on or before noon February 11, 1998, with their joint plan for (I) adequate and reasonable support staff for the judicial system and (ii) an adequate and reasonable office space plan in the Cherokee Nation Courthouse for the court personnel and their support staff. If this cannot be accomplished prior to noon on February 11, and the Committee does not receive the joint plan from the judiciary, we will reconvene on February 12, 1998 at 1:00 P.M. in the Tribal Election Commission Office, at which time any and all of the members of the Cherokee Nation Judicial Branch are invited to meet with this Committee to complete the plan to implement these recommendations. If the judiciary is unable to agree on a joint plan, this Committee will finalize legislation directing the unification of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal and the District Court at the Cherokee Nation Courthouse and the allocation of office space and support personnel and will forward this legislation to the full Council for action.
Obviously, the unification of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal and the District Court and the allocation of space and personnel will not resolve all issues facing the judiciary, but these actions are the necessary first step to any resolution The present situation is an unacceptable and intolerable burden on the Cherokee people, and as the elected representatives of the Cherokee people, we are determined to exercise our full Constitutional authority to enact legislation necessary to resolve these matters and to ensure that the current laws of the Cherokee Nation are upheld. We look forward to working together with you to resolve this for the good of the Nation.
Very truly yours,
/S/ Barbara Starr-Scott
Council Member
/S/ Troy Wayne Poteete
Council Member
/S/ John Baker
Council Member
/S/ Mary Flute Cooksey
Council Member