Citizen Potawatomi Nation v. The State of Oklahoma

This matter involved an arbitration on behalf of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation heard by Arbitrator Daniel J. Boudreau (former Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court). The case involved the State of Oklahoma’s contention that it had the right to collect certain sales taxes from a range of transactions conducted at tribal enterprises on tribal land. Compass Lexecon Senior Consultant Professor Joseph Kalt submitted written and oral testimony in the proceeding, including at the arbitration. In his work, Professor Kalt analyzed the weight of the interests in taxation for the federal, state, and tribal governments. Professor Kalt’s analysis established that federal and tribal interests outweighed those of the State of Oklahoma, and Justice Boudreau agreed. In April 2016, Justice Boudreau ruled in favor of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Professor Kalt was supported by Eric Henson and Sam Greenblatt from Compass Lexecon’s Boston office. In developing our analysis, the Compass Lexecon team worked closely with counsel representing the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, primarily Jimmy K. Goodman and Harvey D. Ellis of Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City.