Washington, DC. – The U.S. Supreme Court denied the City of Tulsa’s application for a stay in the City of Tulsa v. Hooper case in a statement by Justice Brett Kavenaugh on Aug 4. “The application for stay of the mandate presented to JUSTICE GORSUCH and by him referred to the Court is denied. The order heretofore entered by JUSTICE GORSUCH is vacated.”
Justice Kavenaugh’s statement referred to the important jurisdictional questions the case raises and ongoing nature of the litigation as the case was remanded back to the District Court by the Tenth Circuit earlier in July.
Kavenaugh stated the following;
“The City of Tulsa’s application for a stay raises an important question: whether the City may enforce its municipal laws against American Indians in Tulsa. For example, may Indians in Tulsa violate the City’s traffic safety laws without enforcement by the City? The application, however, arises in an interlocutory posture. The District Court granted the City’s motion to dismiss on the ground that the Curtis Act of 1898, see ch. 517, 30 Stat. 495, gives the City jurisdiction over municipal violations committed by all persons, including Indians. But the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed, holding that the Curtis Act confers no such jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals then remanded the case to the District Court for further proceedings…Moreover, as I understand it, nothing in the decision of the Court of Appeals prohibits the City from continuing to enforce its municipal laws against all persons, including Indians, as the litigation progresses.”
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief Hill responded to the SCOTUS denial in a statement made to Facebook;
“The Muscogee (Creek) Nation learned this afternoon that the U.S. Supreme Court denied the City of Tulsa’s application of a stay pending the filing of its petition for certiorari of the Tenth Circuit’s ruling in Hooper v. Tulsa. We are grateful that the Court saw no merit in this procedural attempt to delay the law and Tribal authority while this case is pending. More than enough taxpayer money has been spent on these baseless legal maneuvers. Although this case is not over, we look forward to continued collaboration with our municipal partners to protect public safety across our Reservation.”
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Hoskin Jr. issued the following statement on the denial, stating;
“Today’s news from the U.S. Supreme Court affirms what we have said all along– the best way forward is through collaboration, not wasteful legal fights. The 10th’s circuit’s Hooper decision upheld tribal sovereignty and settled federal law–reaffirming that states and municipalities do not have criminal jurisdiction over Indians in Indian Country. Once again, we hope elected leaders throughout Oklahoma will join with tribes in meeting our shared public safety goals. I’m calling for collaboration, cooperation and an end to the attack on tribal sovereignty.”
The City of Tulsa issued a statement to the ruling;
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued its order on the City’s Application to Stay the Mandate in Hooper v. City of Tulsa. While the Court denied the emergency application for a stay, Justices Kavanaugh and Alito issued a statement. First, they said the issue of whether the City may enforce its municipal laws against Indians in Tulsa is an important question. Second, they indicated that the City could raise to the District Court new grounds for continuing to enforce its laws, based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta) that was issued after the District Court heard the matter. Finally, the Justices stated that “nothing in the decision of the Court of Appeals prohibits the City from continuing to enforce its municipal laws against all persons, including Indians, as the litigation progresses. As indicated by the Justices, the City will continue to seek clarification of these important legal issues with the District Court and, in the meantime, continue to enforce City ordinances against all persons within the City of Tulsa regardless of Indian status. We will also continue to work cooperatively with our tribal partners to protect the health and safety of our shared constituents.”
Background
In 2018, Choctaw citizen and Tulsa resident Justin Hooper was issued a traffic citation by the city of Tulsa and paid a fine of $150. He then sought post-conviction relief after the McGirt decision in 2020. Both the municipal and district courts sided with the City of Tulsa and denied his relief and ruled that the Curtis Act of 1898 applied to tribal citizens within municipalities. Hooper then appealed this decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that Section 14 of the Curtis Act gave Tulsa jurisdiction over Native Americans in the city while it was located in Indian Territory, but once Tulsa reorganized under Oklahoma Law in 1908, Section 14 no longer applied. The case was remanded, or returned back to the district court to be heard in light of the Tenth Circuit opinion that the Curtis Act does not apply. Per the SCOTUS statement on Aug. 4, Friday, the case remains remanded to the district court.
