Small: Court finds McGirt ruling has limits

Court finds McGirt ruling has limits

By Jonathan Small

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, which held that the pre-statehood reservation of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was never formally disestablished for purposes of federal criminal law, created vast uncertainty, particularly as other “reservations” were discovered.

The question facing Oklahomans: Would McGirt provide tribal governments with civil authority over the state and non-Indians?

Thankfully, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has now answered, “No.” Otherwise, McGirt would have created economic chaos and worse by cementing Oklahoma as place where there would be two sets of rules based on race, geography, demographic or political classification.

Here's what you need to know about the judges on the ballot

It's voting time, and you're here because you don't want to be surprised when you see eight judges and justices on your ballot that you know nothing about. Thanks for dropping by!

If you've ever done the frustrating task of searching for information on these courts and judges, I feel your pain. As I mentioned in previous election years, finding information on the justices and judges on the retention ballot can be a difficult task, and basic information such as their ages can be anywhere from difficult to find to completely unknown to even Google.

In this post, I'll cover the following justices and judges, which are on every Oklahoma voter's ballot:

• Supreme Court - Dustin P. Rowe
• Supreme Court - James R. Winchester
• Supreme Court - Dana Kuehn
• Supreme Court - Douglas L. Combs
• Court of Civil Appeals - Stacie L. Hixon
• Court of Civil Appeals - Gregory C. Blackwell
• Court of Civil Appeals - John F. Fischer
• Court of Civil Appeals - Barbara G. Swinton
• Court of Civil Appeals -  Thomas E. Prince

Fair and Williams publish voters guide on judicial retention ballot

Conservative activists Steve Fair and Georgia Williams, both from southwestern Oklahoma, have published a brief voters guide since 1995, discussing the various state questions, judges, and justices on Oklahoma's statewide ballot every election cycle. The following information comes from their judicial retention ballot guide for the Chisholm Trail Shopper in Duncan. 

OKGOP warns of "imminent voter fraud", calls for action to reverse Supreme Court ruling regarding absentee ballots

From OKGOP Chairman David McLain:

Call to Action

Yesterday, May 4, 2020, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled to remove the requirement of providing a copy of an Oklahoma photo ID OR Notary Stamp to verify a voter's authenticity when voting by Absentee Ballot. The ruling states all that is necessary now is just a signature on the ballot, with NO proof that it is your ballot and your vote!

If we think the potential for voter fraud was bad before, this type of ruling guarantees a California style of voting and voter fraud like we have NEVER seen in this state! Imagine all the Absentee Ballots that will be sent in by deceased voters! Imagine the vulnerability of our Oklahomans by any group "helping" our seniors fill out ballots at nursing and convalescent homes.

Read SB1779 by clicking on here.

OCPAC Voters' Guide on State Questions, Supreme Court

Continuing with more perspectives on the State Questions and judges on the ballot, here is what John Michener, president of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee has to say:

Answering Ballot Questions, A Voter Guide

SQ 776, “Full Force & Effect of Death Penalty.”  Vote YES.  This measure would affirm in the state constitution that the death penalty is not cruel or unusual punishment.  It would affirm that the death penalty remains in force even when a particular method of execution is unavailable.

SQ 777, “Right to Harm.”  Vote NO.  This proposed amendment to our state constitution sounds good on the surface, but it appears to have been written by Washington lobbyists on behalf of multi-national corporate agricultural interests.  The measure is designed to bypass our state legislature’s authority, so that federal mandates and regulations can rule the day in farming.  Ultimately, if passed, this measure would make it harder for small farmers to fight federal overreach and harder to fight the lawyers of out-of- state big corporations.  Here is a thirteen-minute explanation of SQ 777, and here is our interview on the Pat Campbell Show.

SQ 779, “The Boren Tax.”  Vote NO.  This measure would create a new permanent state-wide sales tax.  About 70% would go to government school districts, about 20% to state universities, and almost 10% to the State Dept. of Education.

Space does not permit us to fully reveal the utter depravity of this proposal.  The government school system functions as an inefficient and corrupt monopoly, as we have explained in previous updates.  Creating a huge, permanent, new funding source will only exacerbate the problems inherent in the system.

Practically speaking, the new tax would be a tremendous burden on the citizens of the state.  If enacted, the Boren tax would increase the state education sales tax rate by about 28%!   Would you stand for your income tax rate or real estate tax rate increasing by 28%?  Is that reasonable?  The increase would make our state less competitive with other states.  According to the Tax Foundation, it would raise Oklahoma’s average statewide sales tax to the second-highest in the union.  This is no way to roll out the welcome mat for prospective families and businesses.

Furthermore, the only way to get rid of this onerous tax would be to amend the state constitution again.  Funding state departments should not be accomplished by four million people changing the constitution.  It is the proper responsibility of the Legislature in the budgeting process as they analyze needs and attempt to provide oversight of our many departments.

SQ 780, “Smart Justice Reform Act.” Vote YES.  This measure would change some drug possession crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, and it would raise the property crime threshold to $1,000, so that if the crime involved less than $1,000 in value, it would be classified as a misdemeanor rather than a felony.  These changes make common sense.  There is a tremendous difference between having a misdemeanor versus a felony conviction on one’s record.  If we want the penalty to match the crime, this is a reform in the right direction.  Those who hurt themselves and others by abusing drugs are not beyond recovery.  They may deserve some punishment and rehabilitation, but to treat them as felons is to unfairly limit many of their future options.

SQ 781, “County Community Safety Investment Fund.”  Vote NO.   A man came home and said to his wife, “Look at this new power drill I bought for free.”  “Bought for free?” she said.  “Yes.  It was originally $40, but it was marked half off, so I bought it with the $20 I saved.”

SQ 781 is reminiscent of the free power drill.  The state would come home with a new slush fund.  Revenue for the fund would come from the cost savings of implementing SQ 780, as imagined by the “best estimate” of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.  Then the funds would be redistributed to counties for “community rehabilitative programs.”  Let’s not buy another dollar-sucking socialist scheme.  We can use existing public and private programs to help those with addiction problems.

SQ 790, “Repeal the Blaine Amendment.”  Vote YES.  Last year the Oklahoma Supreme Court ordered a monument of the Ten Commandments be removed from the capitol grounds, citing a portion of the Oklahoma Constitution which prohibits the government from using public property for the benefit of any religious institution.  The purpose of the monument was to remember the historical influence of the Ten Commandments, not to support a particular religious institution.  Furthermore, the monument was placed by private funds.  The court’s opinion was wrong.  If the court’s opinion is applied consistently, women and children on Sooner Care will not be able to receive services from a clinic or hospital affiliated with a religion, we will not be able to vote at church polling places, and we will not be able to hold school or conduct public business at churches after a tornado or fire destroys a public building.

Sen. Joseph Silk of Broken Bow and Sen. Rob Standridge of Norman authored SQ 790 so that the citizens might correct the injustice of the court.  If SQ 790 passes, the state must still comply with the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prevents government from endorsing a religion, but we will be able to replace our Ten Commandments monument and continue to benefit from the generosity of churches.

Download this Ten Commandments Flyer, and give a copy to everybody at church.  Ask them to vote YES on SQ 790.

SQ 792, “Modernizing Liquor Laws.”  Vote Yes.  In a perfect world, we would dismantle the ABLE Commission and allow any businessperson to sell all kinds of adult beverages without state interference.  This complex resolution would not accomplish that, and it contains many anti-free market aspects.  The Legislature would still be regulating the adult beverage industry to a high degree.  The fascist ABLE commission would remain intact.  Licensing and other restrictions on ownership and sales would continue under this proposed amendment (e.g., felons could not be licensees—another reason to vote yes on SQ 780).  However, if passed, Oklahoma would inch in the right direction.  We would see more competition and availability of products as a result, and we would be more competitive with other states.  We might even be allowed to buy local communion wine on Sundays!  Vote YES.

Judging Justices

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices James Winchester and Donald Combs will be on the ballot.  Vote NO on both!  In the last few years, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has:

• Banned the Ten Commandments.  Prescott v. Okla. Capitol Preservation Committee, 2015 OK 54.  The U.S. Supreme Court has the Ten Commandments on its building.  Previous state Supreme Courts have upheld Christian symbols like a Cross on public ground.
• Protected child rapists.  Burns v. Cline, 2016 OK 99.  The court struck down a law requiring tissue samples from minors getting abortions.  This law would have helped attorneys prosecute rapists.  Other state agencies have this authority, but the court targeted this pro-life law unjustly.
• Denied women ultrasounds.  Nova Health Systems v. Pruitt.  292 P.3d 28, 2012.  Seeing an ultrasound makes a mom 80% less likely to choose abortion.  Babies die every day as a result of this opinion.
• Protected abortionists.  Burns v. Cline, 2014 OK 90.  This decision overturned the law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.
• Protected sex offenders.  Hendricks v. Jones ex rel. State ex rel. Okla. Dept of Corr., 2013 OK 71.  The court overturned a law that deterred sex offenders from moving to Oklahoma.

Download this Judging Judges Flyer and give a copy to everybody at church.  Ask them to vote NO on Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices James Winchester and Donald Combs.

2010 Election: Oklahoma Judicial Retention

Oklahoma voters get to decide whether or not to "retain" judges on the various different state courts every two years. Ever since the retention system was implemented, no judge has ever been kicked out of office.

This year, three judges are on the statewide ballot - two State Supreme Court Justices, and one Court of Civil Appeals Justice. Given that practically nobody knows anything about these judges come election time, I'll post a little bit of information about the judges here, and how I will be voting.

Oklahoma Supreme Court

Justice James R. Winchester

Justice James Winchester was appointed by Gov. Frank Keating (R) on Jan. 4, 2000 as a member of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma. A native of Clinton, Oklahoma, Justice Winchester received his bachelors of art from the University of Oklahoma and his juris doctorate from Oklahoma City University.

After graduating from law school, Justice Winchester practiced law in Weatherford and Hinton before being named Associate District Judge for Caddo County in Jan. 1983. In Dec. 1983, at age 30, Justice Winchester became one of the youngest district judges in the state when he was appointed as District Judge for the Sixth Judicial District of Oklahoma. During his tenure as a district judge, he tried more than 200 jury trials, ranging from fraud to first-degree murder death-penalty cases.

Justice Winchester was named Outstanding State Trial Court Judge by the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association in 1986 and served as an executive board member of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference from 1992 to 1996. He served as President of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference in 1995. From August 1997 to January 2000, Justice Winchester served as a U.S. Administrative Law Judge. Winchester is husband to former State Rep. Susan Winchester (R-Chickasha).

My suggested vote: YES

 Justice Steven W. Taylor

Vice-Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor earned his B.A. in Political Science from Oklahoma State University in 1971.  Justice Taylor received the Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1974.

Taylor joined the United States Marine Corps in 1970 and served on active duty from 1974-1978.  He was trained as an infantry platoon commander and later served as a prosecutor and Chief Defense Counsel.  In 1977 he became the youngest judge in the U.S. Armed Forces.  He was promoted to the rank of Major.

Following his active duty service in the Marines, Taylor practiced law in McAlester from 1978-1984.  In 1980 he was elected to the McAlester City Council and in 1982 was elected Mayor of McAlester, making him the youngest Mayor in that city’s history. 

In March 1984 Governor George Nigh appointed Taylor Associate District Judge for Pittsburg County.  In 1991 he was the first Associate District Judge ever to be elected President of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference.  In 1994, Taylor was elected District Judge of the 18th Judicial District.  In 1997 and 2003 he was elected Presiding Judge of the ten county East-Central Judicial Administrative District. In his over 20 years as a trial judge, he presided over more than 500 jury trials including the Terry Nichols Oklahoma City bombing case.

On September 24, 2004, Gov. Brad Henry (D) appointed Taylor to be a Justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

My suggested vote: NO

Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals (click links for info)

Deborah B. Barnes [appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D)]: NO

Doug Gabbard II [appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D)]: NO

John F. Fischer [appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D)]: NO
Larry Joplin [appointed by Gov. David Walters (D)]: NO

I will be voting 'no' on the judges appointed by Democrat governors, not necessarily because of their actions, but because Mary Fallin will likely be the next Governor, and would be appointing their replacements. I trust a Republican governor more than I do a Democrat one (and especially more than I do Gov. Brad Henry).

If I run across any differing opinions on the judges, I'll try to post them.