Court Rules Osage Nation Was Disestablished
Oklahoma’s Court of Criminal Appeals says the Osage Nation’s reservation was disestablished by Congress around the time Oklahoma became a state.
Essentially, the appeals court says McGirt doesn’t apply to the Osage Nation.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt decision re-affirmed Muscogee Nation and has set a precedent around the state, re-affirming several reservations including the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.
Those tribal nations all have criminal jurisdiction, meaning tribal citizens charged there will be tried in tribal or federal courts. Tribal leaders argue that’s a key component of tribal sovereignty.
Because of McGirt, Osage citizen Dakoda McCauley argued he should be tried in federal court for the 2018 death of an acquaintance in Barnsdall, for which he was convicted of manslaughter. The appeals court judges disagreed and declined to move his case.
It’s anticipated the case could be appealed all the way up to the US Supreme Court.
Rep. Turner Not Seeking Relection
Rep. Mauree Turner says they are not seeking reelection this year.
Turner made the initial announcement via a campaign email. The decision to step down from office, they say, is after a recent medical diagnosis and the need to care for their physical and mental health.
"I've got some health issues that I'd like to focus on right now. I got a diagnosis at the beginning of the year I think it just kind of made the decision a lot easier, to take a step back," Turner said.
Looking ahead, Turner is endorsing their legislative aide Nicole Maldonado as the next representative for House District 88.
Maldonado, 24, is a self-described queer woman who says that like Turner, she will continue representing the intersectionality of identities in the heart of the state's capital city.
Oklahoma Bill Allowing Health Care Workers To Withhold Services Fails
A bill that would allow health care workers to withhold services that go against their beliefs failed in an Oklahoma Senate committee Thursday. Some lawmakers are concerned the bill doesn’t provide enough patient protections.
House Bill 3214 by Moore Republican Kevin West would have extended protections to hospitals, insurance companies and health care providers. They could refuse to participate or pay for non-emergency services that go against their ethical, moral and religious beliefs without being held liable.
The bill concerned lawmakers like Republican Senator Brenda Stanley.
"Do you not foresee a, a rise in lawsuits, um, against physicians that have said, ‘Oh, I'm such and such religion, so I can't treat you’?", Stanley said.
The bill narrowly failed in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, with a tie vote of 6-6.
Legislation To Allow Advertising For On-Farm Sales Of Donkey Milk Advances
The only raw milk allowed to be advertised for on-farm sales in Oklahoma is goat milk, but Senate Bill 1963 would add donkey milk to the list. The bill advanced from the House Committee on Agriculture earlier this week.
The only donkey dairy in Oklahoma is in Luther.
The dairy sells raw donkey milk, skin and hair products made from the milk, and it ships pasteurized freeze dried donkey milk from Europe to people in the U.S.
During the House agriculture committee, its owners say they want the new rule in the law.
In the meeting, JanLee Rowlett, the state’s deputy commissioner of agriculture, says for raw donkey milk to be advertised, the bill needs to become law.
In Oklahoma, all raw milk sales must occur on a farm because of potential associated health risks with the product. Milk and milk products sold in stores, restaurants and in school lunch rooms are pasteurized.
The bill unanimously passed its House committee and is on the way to the House floor.
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