Oklahoma cities, others join in effort to overturn McGirt

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two northeast Oklahoma cities, state law enforcement and business groups, as well as the states of Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska have filed briefs supporting the state’s request that the U.S. Supreme Court overturn its decision that some tribal reservations were never disestablished.

The McGirt decision found that Oklahoma has no jurisdiction over crimes committed by or against Native Americans on tribal reservations. Since the decision jurisdiction has become a more complicated matter for state courts, leading to many cases needing to be dismissed and re-tried in federal courts.

The cities of Tulsa and Owasso filed friend of the court briefs on Thursday alleging that crimes such as domestic violence have not been prosecuted because of the McGirt decision.

A federal prosecutor and the Cherokee Nation dispute the claims.