By AP
Pawhuska, OK – High court seeks brief in Okla tribe's lawsuit
PAWHUSKA, Okla. (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court has invited the Acting Solicitor General to file a brief expressing the views of the United States as it decides whether to hear an appeal from the Osage Nation regarding its lawsuit against the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
The tribe sued the commission in 2001, arguing that Congress never disestablished Osage County as a reservation for the tribe and that tribal citizens who live and work there are exempt from state income taxes. A federal judge ruled against the tribe in 2009, and the 10th U.S. Circuit of Appeals upheld that decision in May.
The tribe then asked the Supreme Court to review the case.
In a statement on the tribe's website, Chief John Red Eagle said officials "are confident in the merits of our case ..."