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A temporary intergovernmental cooperative detention agreement between Washington County and the Cherokee Nation was approved by the Washington County Commissioners during an emergency meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan said the agreement regarded the detention of the Cherokee Nation's tribal inmates. Buchanan said they received the proposed contract that had provisions in it that he did not feel comfortable bringing to the Board of Commissioners for approval. He said that began a circulation of the contract among the District Attorney's in the 14 counties that make up the Cherokee Reservation and the Cherokee Tribe as they tried to resolve some of the issues.

Buchanan said the reason they proposed a 90 day contract with an absolute termination date is because they cannot be able to not reach an agreement with the Cherokee Nation regarding the tribe's refusal to waive sovereign immunity as to the contract. If the Cherokee Nation doesn't waive the sovereign immunity and Washington County has a problem with the contract, Buchanan said the County would have no recourse. He said they would only have recourse through the Cherokee Nation court system in Tahlequah to litigate any issues with the contract.

According to Buchanan, 7 of the 14 counties in the Cherokee Nation Reservation that are in negotiation or have seen contracts recently executed are stuck in this situation for 90 days. Buchanan said it's not their intention to renew a long-term contract with that problem still in existence. He said there may be a point in time where the Washington County Sheriff's Office may not have a contract with the Cherokee Nation if they refuse to waive sovereign immunity in regards to the contract.

Buchanan said they're not trying to make the Cherokee Nation waive this immunity for everything forever, but as to the parties of the contract, they believe it's necessary so Washington County can enforce the terms of the agreement in the event that the necessity arises. He said most of the other terms would be acceptable for a long-term contract otherwise. He also said there are a few terms that they would like to experiment with and see how it goes before they agree to anything long-term, which makes a temporary contract all the more better. If issues arise, they can be dealt with in a long-term contract in the future.

The agreement proposed by Buchanan to the Commissioners on Thursday is similar to the contract that was signed for Craig and Rogers counties. Buchanan said they added some language to the Rogers County contract that regards videoconferencing. He said Washington County's video technology works fine, but the tech is approximately 10-years-old. To share that with someone else could be very difficult, Buchanan said.

Washington County's IT Department is believed to have located a 10-year-old Panasonic television for the Cherokee Nation that they'll be required to use if they want it down in Tahlequah. Buchanan made sure that language was included to state that the sharing of technology would be as Washington County's technology exists, if it's compatible. He said the contract will not place additional burden on the County to purchase or implement new videoconferencing abilities in order to meet the terms of the contract.

Discussions in the fall after the McGirt v Oklahoma decision led Buchanan to believe that the Cherokee Nation would have satellite court locations available so that the Tahlequah court wouldn't be the only available location. In his view, the Cherokee Nation has not yet had time to get what they need to get these courts in order.

The contract authorizes the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) to detain tribal detainees. Buchanan said the WCSO would not have legal authority to hold detainees for courts other than the District Court of Washington County without the contract. He said they needed to have a contract in place or else the Bartlesville Police Department, the Dewey Police Department, the Ramona Police Department and the WCSO would have to try and find a jail in eastern Oklahoma to take Cherokee Nation detainees.

If the Cherokee Nation has the use of all 14 county jails, Buchanan said the capacity of the jails will be fine. Buchanan said the capacity is not going to change from what it was before to what it will be in the future. Prior to Wednesday, the Cherokee Nation only had seven jails by way of agreement.

Commissioner Mitch Antle said the Cherokee Nation does not operate an independent detention facility on behalf of the tribe. It is for that reason that Commissioner Antle said it's necessary for the jails within the 14 counties of the Cherokee Nation to act as the tribe's facilities. He added that it's also convenient for our local law enforcement.

Buchanan said Washington County has no obligation under the contract to provide transportation to and from court proceedings to be held in Tahlequah. He said that will be the sole responsibility of the Cherokee Martial Service. In the event of emergency medical needs for a Cherokee Nation detainee, Buchanan said there are provisions for compensation for the WCSO in the contract. For instance, if the WCSO has to take someone to Claremore or Tahlequah for medical reasons, the Sheriff's Office will be compensated for time and mileage.

The agreement also states that Washington County will accept bonds set by the Cherokee Nation court system.

Commissioner Mike Dunlap asked how they're able to tell if someone that is being arrested is actually part of the Cherokee Nation. Buchanan said all of law enforcement should know by now that they need to be asking that question. He said they're also supposed to ask that question during booking.

As of Thursday, all five Civilized Tribe Reservations had been resurrected. Buchanan said five murder cases, a rape case, a child molestation case, and an aggravated child pornography case were all dismissed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday. He said Tulsa County alone has had five murder cases dismissed in the last week.

Some of the cases will potentially go through the re-trial process in Federal Court. If there's a case that can be or will be retried, Buchanan said the Federal authorities are filing the case while the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is placing a hold. He said this has occurred with some cases in Washington County that have been transferred.

The temporary agreement is set to end on the 91st day. The contract was passed on a 3-0 vote.

The contract between Washington County and the Cherokee Nation can be viewed here.

Sheriff Scott Owen, Bartlesville Police Chief Tracy Roles and Cherokee Nation Councilwoman Dora Smith Patzkowski were also in attendance.