PAWHUSKA, Okla. – An Osage Supreme Court decision late Thursday has cleared the way for the tribe’s first removal trial.
In November 2013, Principal Chief John Red Eagle filed a lawsuit in tribal court, challenging the constitutionality of the tribe’s removal procedures and claiming his right to due process was violated.
In Thursday’s decision, the Osage Supreme Court maintained that the process does not violate the tribe’s constitution and Red Eagle’s right to due process was not violated in part because he still has the opportunity to present his defense.
“The removal trial is the principal chief’s opportunity to address the charges against him,” Chief Justice Meredith Drent wrote. “Because of the broad scope of the reasons for removal and because of Congress’ exclusive role in the removal process, we can only hold that Congress has stated a reason for removal. The removal trial itself is where the parties must establish whether the constitution supports their respective positions.”
With this ruling, Red Eagle’s removal trial, set for Jan. 13 during a special Congressional session, will go on as scheduled. Red Eagle is facing six counts, including allegations of abuse of power, interfering with an Osage attorney general’s investigation, refusing to uphold tribal law and breaking federal and tribal law by using tribal funds to pay a contractor to maintain his personal website.
Late Friday afternoon, Red Eagle issued a one-page statement through the tribe’s temporary website acknowledging the court’s decision and the still-impending trial.
“We thought it likely that the court would allow the trial to go forward, but had high hopes that they would determine that ‘meaningful due process’ during the investigatory phase would include an opportunity for the chief to defend himself or to at least be fully represented in a manner that allowed the ‘evidence’ to be questioned or impeached,” it read in part. “This would allow the Congress better information upon which to base any decision. Congress’ rules simply allow the chief’s attorneys to attend as observers and that does not allow adequate representation or defense.“
Red Eagle testified during the Select Committee of Inquiry’s 2013 investigation and was allowed to sit in and listen with legal counsel when other witnesses testified before the committee. In Thursday’s decision, the court specifically noted the Osage Constitution’s silence on the role of the accused in the investigatory phase and ruled that an official at the center of a removal investigation is not required to participate in the pre-trial activities but must at least be appraised of evidence that could be brought up during the removal hearing.
The two named defendants in Red Eagle’s challenge, Speaker Raymond Red Corn and Congresswoman Alice Buffalohead, chairwoman of the Select Committee of Inquiry, issued a joint statement Friday afternoon in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“Overall, we are satisfied with the Osage Nation Supreme Court opinion handed down last night. Through its opinion, the court reassured us and the nation that the Osage Constitution will be upheld and not ignored.”
John Red Eagle, Osage Nation Chief
– The 16-page decision from the Osage Nation Supreme Court is available online HERE