Governor Kevin Stitt and nine Oklahoma gaming tribes filed paperwork last Friday telling a federal judge why he should rule in their favor in the dispute over gaming compacts in the state.
It hinges on one statement, "this compact shall have a term which will expire on January 1, 2020," as well as "the compact shall automatically renew for successive additional fifteen-year terms."
Sara Hill is the attorney general for the Cherokee Nation and one of the parties that filed the summary judgement for the tribes. She said both parties agree that the language of the compact is what's important. But, both have different conclusions.
"From the tribe's belief, that language is clear. That it means that shall automatically renew, that that's what happened - it's automatically renewed," Hill said. "I think the other side, the state side, the governor side believes also that the language is clear although they come to a different legal conclusion."
Both parties have until June 12 to respond to arguments. A ruling could come after that time.
