Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has hired new counsel in an ongoing tribal gaming lawsuit that began at the beginning of his term. The outside counsel will present new legal arguments based on the Supreme Court’s recent Castro-Huerta case ruling.
The argument affirms the governor’s “ability to enter into new gaming agreements on his own with four tribes that were not included in the state’s original tribal gaming compact,” according to the language of the ruling.
During 2020, Stitt signed four new gaming compacts with the Comanche Nation, the Otoe-Missouria tribes, the Kialegee Tribal Town and Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, all agreements he entered independently. Two out of the four agreements included a proviso to allow sports betting in Oklahoma. According to state law, Stitt’s actions were illegal.
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matthew Morgan said Stitt’s decision to hire new counsel is an attempt to “void out” the state court’s decision.
He commented: “It’s a shame to see that he’s now trying to void out a state supreme court ruling that told him he was wrong by now taking this up to the federal level.”
Morgan went on to add that the timing of this move and the possible end of Stitt’s term should not be overlooked.
He said: “Two years later, you add a bunch of new lawyers. You claim to have a new theory. It feels like a Hail Mary pass at the end of a game. If I was a state legislator, I would be looking at the why behind this, the timing of this, and how much it’s going to cost us as a state.”
Attorney General Sara Hill echoed Morgan’s concerns about the potential cost to Oklahoma taxpayers.
Hill commented: “This is another example of the governor spending taxpayer dollars unnecessarily. The Oklahoma Supreme Court made it clear that the compacts he’s defending were void a long time ago.
“I cannot understand why more taxpayer dollars should be used to prop up the actions of the governor when he won’t even accept the judgement of the state’s courts.”
