1. Shall the judicial department be expanded to include an inferior court for each legislative district within the Nation whose Judges shall be elected?

I am definitely against this proposition. We already have a threemember tribal court with enough jurisdiction to decide any question arising in the tribal government. We have absolutely no need for 12 more courts. This would require putting at least twelve more judges on the payroll which would be wasteful and unnecessary. Last year it cost more than $28,000.00 to operate the court. An increase in the number of judges would raise this figure substantially. I urge you to vote no on this question.

2. Shall the Supreme Court Judges be elected by the Tribal Council?

The only Court we have in the Choctaw Nation is also the Supreme Court. It's members are presently appointed by the Chief with the approval of the Tribal Council. Under this procedure, if the Council feels that someone selected as a Judge by the Chief is not qualified, then it can refuse to approve the selection. This allows both the executive and legislative branches to have input into the selection of judges. This is the method used by the federal government and most states. A yes vote on this question will deprive the Chief of any voice in who will be your tribal judges. This would eliminate one of the checks and balances upon which our Constitution was adopted. It is in the interest of the Choctaw people that both the Chief and Council have a voice in who serves on their court. I hope the people vote an overwhelming no on this.

3. Shall the tribal court's jurisdiction be extended to include general civil, criminal and probate matters?

Under the present Constitution, the Court is set up to interpret and decide disputes which involve provisions of the Constitution and laws passed by the council. We have no business getting into the criminal and probate jurisdiction. How would we enforce criminal laws? We have no jails or any means to punish people! The state and federal governments do this and I doubt that they would permit us to get involved. Likewise, the state has probate courts to settle people's estates. No attorney in Oklahoma or any other state would recognize probate proceedings in our tribal court. I urge a no vote.

4. Shall citizens residing outside the Choctaw Nation hold elective office?

This is a very important question. Under the 1860 Constitution, members of the Council had to reside in the Choctaw Nation and the district they represented. Under the 1979 Constitution, there are three at-large Councilmembers who must reside outside the Choctaw Nation. There are good arguments on either side of this question and I will not try to influence the Choctaw people in deciding.