Tulsa officials say police will still issue traffic tickets to any driver in the city suspected of breaking traffic laws. The message comes after federal courts ruled in favor of area tribes over whether the city can process tickets given to Native drivers.
A federal judge ruled Friday in favor of Justin Hooper, a Native driver who argued the city couldn’t process a ticket issued to him by a Tulsa police officer. The ruling follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma holding that eastern Oklahoma is still an Indian reservation, meaning Native defendants must be prosecuted in tribal or federal courts.
Tulsa sits entirely on land belonging to the Muscogee, Cherokee and Osage tribes.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the city said police would continue to enforce traffic laws equally because "no person is immune from the law." Hooper has agreed with this position throughout his litigation, but argued his speeding ticket was processed in the wrong court.
But the city also said its legal disputes aren’t over.
“The dismissal of one case, for one specific issue does not conclude the determination of jurisdictional authority and there are other cases ongoing that will help further clarify jurisdictional authority in the future,” the statement sent Saturday reads.
One such case is from the Muscogee Nation, which accuses the city of continuing to process tickets against Native drivers after federal courts ordered it not to after Hooper's favorable ruling this summer.
Geri Wisner, the tribe’s attorney, has argued the city continues to fight the Hooper case because of money. But Mayor G.T. Bynum says otherwise, arguing less than 2% of the city’s operating budget comes from ticket revenue.
"If it's not about money, then what is the holdup? Because the 10th Circuit has told you very clearly that the tribe has jurisdiction over traffic matters. If it's not about money, I'm only left to make assumptions at this point," Wisner said, adding that Tulsa police have forwarded felony cases with Native defendants to the tribe to prosecute.
Bynum has said there has been an emphasis on traffic enforcement because of Hooper’s case, but called this aspect of the law “fairly straightforward.” He’s instead argued getting things like city codes and ordinances cleared by the tribes would be unnecessarily bureaucratic.
Bynum is pushing for a tribal-municipal framework of governance, which he believes would settle legal disputes that arise from McGirt.
"All I'm asking is that they recognize the city within their constitutions as a tribal city,” he said, adding that the tribes can make exceptions to city codes when they see fit.
Bynum said it has been challenging getting the tribes’ attorneys to discuss the proposed framework of governance. But when Wisner said she hasn’t received any efforts to meet from the mayor, Bynum said he does “not communicate with the attorneys for other parties in a lawsuit — that is up to their client.”
Bynum said Tulsa police and their legal advisor met with one of Wisner’s attorneys in July.
