Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Tahlequah, OK - Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma's (CNO) Chief, Joe Byrd, and Rex Earl Starr, Byrd's general counsel, were ordered by Chief Justice Philip Viles Jr. to appear in court on Friday, April, 16, 1999, concerning contempt of court charges. A representative for Byrd had confirmed that he would attend the 3 p.m. hearing. Byrd and Starr, however, did not show but instead two attorneys representing the pair appeared before the Chief Justice.

Tim Baker and Lloyd Cole appeared in court to argue that Viles step down as the presiding judge. The reason given for Byrd's and Starr's abseneces was that they were not obligated to attend, because they had not personally been served the summons.

Chief Justice Viles Jr. said that he did not have a problem with Byrd and Starr not attending.

Byrd appointed Justice, Darrell Dowty, was also present but refused to make a statement, commenting that he would not make any statements as a justice, although he was aware that Viles sometimes did. Shortly after being appointed by Byrd, Dowty gave the chief free control of the CNO's check book without council approval.

The argument used for Justice Viles disqualification as presiding judge in this case, stems from past differences of opinion between he and the chief. Byrd and Starr argue that Viles could not be unbiased, using past media statements, made by Justice Viles, concerning the chiefs job performance as the excuse.

Chief Justice Viles said, "I have been critical of the chief and his performance," but added that he could be fair in any judicial process that involved Byrd. Viles refused to disqualify himself.

The two CNO district judges were suspended by the Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT), the CNO's supreme court. The suspension included being taken off the payroll. Chief Byrd failed to honor these court orders.

Byrd never went to court to challenge the suspensions, but did continue to authorize payroll checks to the suspended judges. Accounting records submitted by the CNO's accounting director, Dan Howard, show that Jordan and Littlejohn, the suspended judges, continued to receive $36,000 in payroll checks after the JAT ordered suspension.

These suspensions came after Jordan and Littlejohn refused to honor JAT orders that the district court be reestablished in the CNO Court House. The district court had been moved to the chief controlled tribal complex during the malay of Byrds take over and shut down of the CNO's Court House. Once the CNO Court House was reopened, JAT orders that the district court be reestablished in the court house and court papers be returned to the court house were ignored.

In February, Chief Justice Viles Jr. wrote a letter to Chief Byrd letting him know when he would be at the tribal complex to pick up the court papers. Byrd said, before leaving for Washington, D.C., that he could not get involved. Byrd stated that as the chief officer of the tribe's executive branch, the turning over of court records was under the control of the judicial branch.

In a February press release from Washington, D.C. Byrd also stated, "The Cherokee Nation Constitution is very clear, in regard to the separation of powers", adding, "we have three separate and distinct branches of government; executive, legislative and judicial."

Chief Justice Viles Jr., kept the appoinment, personally going to the tribal complex, which is also the chief's headquarters, retrieved the court papers and returned them to the CNO Court House without incident.