Muscogee Judicial System “in Limbo”

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An excerpt:

The judicial system of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is in limbo.

At its Nov. 20 regular meeting, the tribe’s National Council overrode a veto by Principal Chief A.D. Ellis and approved a bill that abolished the tribe’s district court and replaced it with three courts.

Each of the new courts focuses solely on one legal area, with one for criminal cases, one for civil cases and one for family cases. The tribe’s Supreme Court was not affected by the legislation.

National Council Speaker Roger Barnett said, “We had some concerns about people getting proper assistance in specific areas, so specific courts were established for those areas.”

Ellis had vetoed the bill Nov. 10, claiming that it violated the separation of powers clause in the tribe’s constitution. The council voted 20-5 to override the veto.

So far, no judges have been seated to oversee the new courts. Barnett said the Chief’s Office has 60 days from the legislation’s passage to make nominations or the council will do it.

In response to the legislation, Ellis sued the National Council in the tribe’s district court.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101224_11_A8_OKMULG230417