ScissorTales: Not this time

The Oklahoman Editorial

Published: February 9, 2008

The state Supreme Court says tribal sovereignty can't be used as a shield by a tribe that's being sued because a casino patron allegedly drove drunk.

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe and Thunderbird Entertainment Center are being sued by a woman who was injured when her car was struck by a vehicle whose driver, she contends, had earlier been drinking at the casino. She alleges casino employees served alcohol to the driver when he was clearly drunk.

The tribe says the man wasn't at the casino the night before the early morning accident, and that the casino's bar closed more than five hours before the wreck. And, it said its sovereign status left the tribe immune from civil prosecution, and two lower courts agreed.

But the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, said that in cases involving liability tied to alcohol sales, immunity doesn't apply. Justice Steve Taylor noted that Congress has passed laws requiring tribes to comply with state law regarding alcohol sales. The court said the tribe waived any immunity when it applied for a state alcohol license.

It'll be interesting to see how this ends up. Might tribal immunity from public smoking rules be next to fall?

A lawmaker wants to do away with straight-party voting in Oklahoma. Bravo. His move to let people register and vote on Election Day is far less appealing. The straight-party option is a relic that needs to go. In Oklahoma, we make things worse in big elections by requiring voters to use that option two or three times. As a result, voters often inadvertently fail to vote for local races because they assume their first "straight party” choice covers the entire ballot. A bill by Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, would still allow voters to choose all Democrats or Republicans, but they'd have to do it one race at a time. In his call to let folks register and vote on the day of an election, Kiesel argues that no one should be denied the right to vote simply because they didn't register by the cutoff date. Among other things, allowing registration on Election Day would further burden the volunteers who man the precincts. A deadline isn't unfair.

Consolidation must be the dictionary's longest four-letter word, at least if you're a rural Oklahoman adamant about saving your town's waning school. Residents of the Lost City school district in eastern Oklahoma refused this week to annex with neighboring Hulbert. The election seems a clear case of emotion besting common sense. Last month, the tiny district had to borrow money to make payroll for its 11 teachers and support staff, although there's some speculation tribal money may be able to help the district keep school going for a while longer. Losing a school is tough, and Hulbert school officials wouldn't promise to keep Lost City's aging school buildings open. It's difficult to see how keeping open a school that can't make ends meet is good for teachers who are wondering whether they'll have a job in a month, or for students whose fate is in constant limbo.

The news just keeps getting worse for former Marble City schools Superintendent Larry Couch. The Tulsa World reported this week that Couch is now accused of taking nearly $700,000 to pay for non-school related expenses. Authorities believe the former superintendent routed some of the money through a bank account set up for a rural schools lobbying group. State education officials stripped Couch of his teaching and administrative credentials amid the ongoing investigation, but he's appealing that decision. Couch could do the right thing by dropping the appeal and moving on with his life, but we won't get our hopes up. Doing the right thing doesn't seem to be high on his priority list.

In the aftermath of Super Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton's camp made some unwelcome news with reports the candidate loaned $5 million to her campaign late last month. Clinton said her performance in Tuesday's primaries and caucuses proved the wisdom of the investment, but analysts saw red flags in the loan. MSNBC reported that many Clinton donors already have given the federal limit, forcing the candidate to seek funds elsewhere — her piggybank. With Sen. Barack Obama raising $32 million in January, and $7.2 million in less than 48 hours after Super Tuesday, the Clinton team apparently is finding itself in an unfamiliar position, being out-resourced by an opponent.

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