Political Quotes

“The simple justice referred to in this article is the death of an 18-year-old high school student in an automobile accident in the lower Yakima Valley in the State of Washington. That accident, according to the father of the boy and the police agencies, took place when a Yakima tribal policeman ran a red light in a pursuit and broadsided the pickup being driven by the young man and killed him. The Yakima Tribe, the employer of that police officer, cannot be sued because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. In other words, there is no State or Federal court in which the father, the author of this letter, can seek simple justice. He is absolutely precluded by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Now, if that police vehicle had belonged to the Yakima County sheriff's office, a suit could have been brought against Yakima County. If it had belonged to the Washington State Patrol, the father could have brought a lawsuit against the State of Washington--but not against the Yakima Tribal Council, the employer of that police officer. The Yakima Tribal Council states that the facts are somewhat different and that perhaps the police officer was not negligent. Neither you nor I, Mr. President, nor any Member of this body can be certain of those facts. But it is for exactly that reason that we set up courts in the United States, so that there could be a neutral body to make that determination and to reward damages where a judge and a jury felt damages were due.”