You may recall Oklahoma as being one of the states where Republican legislators verily wigged out at the thought of Creeping Sharia, back in the wettest days of the spittle-flecked 2010 campaign season. As per usual, the thought of any religion holding sway over our laws that is
not the sub-sub-sect of Christianity that the lawmakers themselves adhered to was an obvious precursor to the doom of America. There was never any actual evidence that sharia law was creeping or hopping or hiding behind the sofa or anything else, mind you; this is just one of those examples of fanatical racism/bigotry that continues to govern the laws of our various states even as the Supreme Court, who now keep themselves sealed in an airtight container between decisions so as to not be spoil, declares the problem solved.
So the Oklahoma Legislature drafted a constitutional amendment banning "Sharia Law" from being "considered" in the courts, the voters approved it, people who knew a little something about actual law noted what a gigantic and ridiculous mess it was going to be, and now the bill is starting to come due.
Oklahoma must pay $303,333 for attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs who challenged a measure approved overwhelmingly by voters on Nov. 2, 2010, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange ruled May 14. [...]
Plaintiff Muneer Awad, an Oklahoma City Muslim man, said in the lawsuit that the measure would stigmatize him and others of his faith, limit the results they can receive in court and prevent his will from being probated in Oklahoma because his will references Sharia law, the Islamic law system.
The judge agreed, finding the law unconstitutional.
Micheal Salem, of Norman, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said there has never been any indication that Sharia law was being applied in Oklahoma courts in the first place.
“It created a solution where there was no problem that existed,” Salem said.
Nonsense, the problem that existed was that the Republican base had been whipped into an openly bigoted frenzy by conspiracy-peddlers and the Oklahoma Legislature had to scramble to meet the needs of state conspiracy theorists or the lunatics would vote them out of office. And drafting up an "anti-Sharia" amendment "solved" that.
Now Oklahoma taxpayers get to pay $300,000 for the privilege of the stunt, and this is only one lawsuit, and doesn't count any of the state's own expenses in defending the law. Fiscal responsibility, baby!