Supreme Court rules initiative petition invalid

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An initiative petition to make English the official state language is unconstitutional, the Oklahoma Supreme Court said Tuesday. <br><br>The state court ruled the plan infringes

Tuesday, April 2nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An initiative petition to make English the official state language is unconstitutional, the Oklahoma Supreme Court said Tuesday.

The state court ruled the plan infringes on the right of free speech, the freedom to petition the government for redress and upon the policy-making function of the Legislature, as outlined in the Oklahoma Constitution.

``Thus, Initiative Petition No. 366 is legally insufficient for submission to a vote of the people of Oklahoma,'' the court held in an opinion written by Justice Ralph Hodges.

State Sen. Carol Martin, R-Comanche, was the leading proponent of the petition, which was filed almost two years ago.

The proposed statute would have banned state money from being spent on translations for public documents or providing services in a different language.

It called for conducting all state business in English only.

The proposal drew criticism from minority groups, including Indian tribes and Hispanic organizations.

A lawsuit challenging the plan's constitutionality was filed on behalf of Delilah Christine Gentges of Tulsa and Fannie Bates of Norman.

``I'm delighted the court chose to go ahead and rule on the initiative before a vote,'' said James C. Thomas, Tulsa law school professor who represented Gentges. ``It was such a terrible initiative that would have created a total second-class citizen based on how people speak.''

Despite collecting enough signatures to require a statewide vote, petition proponents sought at one point to withdraw the petition. The court denied the withdrawal motion so it could rule on the legal merits.

Supporters of the petition declined to submit briefs to the court prior to the ruling.

The justices held that it was proper for them to address the legal questions because they had done it in the past to ``avoid costly and unnecessary elections.''

Hodges said the English-only petition is ``fraught with infirmities'' and it would be ``a disservice to the citizens of Oklahoma to submit a petition that would not withstand a constitutional attack to a statewide vote.''

The opinion said 22 other states have laws adopting English as the official language but are ``non-prohibitive, brief and symbolic.''

Referring to past court rulings, it said freedoms of speech and to petition the government are closely related and apply ``equally to those proficient in the English language and those who are not.''

``Restricting all governmental communications to English prevents citizens who are of limited English proficiency from effectively communicating with their government,'' the court held.