I've had plenty of reasons to doubt the credibility of the Cherokee Courts. When my lawsuit against tribal government for wrongful termination comes to some kind of resolution at that level, I'll write more about it, but just the tip of the iceberg - Wilson Pipestem, the husband of Supreme Court Justice Brenda Toineeta-Pipestem, has a lobbying contract with the tribe over which the principal chief has direct authority. That's on top of the fact that every tribal employee's paycheck, including judges and justices, is signed by the principal chief. It's not too much of a stretch for an ethically-challenged principal chief to use that authority to try to sway a court decision should any case arise involving that principal chief.
When I criticized in a column for the Asheville Citizen-Times the way the tribal courts were set up and the fact the it currently is too easy for improprieties to happen with no consquences, Justice Harry Martin, who should've been out of the game years ago, wrote a response arguing there was nothing wrong with it. The photo with this post says it all.
3 comments:
I understand what you're saying Joe. Remember that although they are not the highest ranking members of the Cherokee Court, Judges Martin and Saunooke do hear the vast majority of the cases and do most of the court's heavy lifting. Whereas Harry Martin set about to create an independent court and set case precedent, etc., the current Chief Justice has become basically irrelevant, as they never hold Supreme Court anymore. Martin and Saunooke do the best they can with a lot of crap to work with--bad cops, total disorganization, etc. From the attorneys I know who practice in the court, they say there is hope as long as Martin and Saunooke get left alone. And remember Martin and Saunooke did go directly against the Chief and Council when they allowed Rob Saunooke to continue to practice.
I have no personal issues with any of the judges or justices. Since Rob is my attorney, I'm thankful that judges Martin and Kirk Saunooke found on the side of precedent and law rather than a political agenda. I've actually found Matthew Martin to be fair for the most part, and to Kirk Saunooke's credit, he recused himself from my case since his council member mother is a defendant. Should my case go to the Supreme Court, I'd expect no less integrity from Justice Brenda Toineeta-Pipestem.
The court does have hope if left alone, but there needs to be a legal structure that allows it to be left alone and provides sanctions for interference, and right now that legal structure doesn't exist.
the chief meddles in tribal court at every chance he gets. he rejects key hiring decisions by the direct head of the court (the chief justice). he forces the unjust firing of those (sadly, several) who don't kiss his ass and do his bidding.
tribal government is run as a series of little fiefdoms with those with a little bit of power (the head of such-and-such department) doing whatever they darn well please as long as they're a cousin to shelly.
the court needs to be the ONE place that that doesn't happen. and the people can get some justice. harry martin, old man he was, was the former chief judge of the north carolina supreme court and had would to stand up for his employees and try to get things done the right way. if michell didn't like it, he didn't care. he was 85 and didn't need another job. ask everyone who worked under him and works there now and see what the change is under the new do-nothing chief justice, who lets michell dictate every little thing and won't stand up to him.
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