

The state of Oklahoma in turn argued to the Supreme Court that the Creek Nation's claimed territory was not a reservation at all. He had appealed to the Supreme Court after state courts rejected his appeals. McGirt had argued in state courts that Oklahoma lacked the jurisdiction to review his case because the crime took place within the boundaries of the Creek Nation's historic territory.

McGirt is serving a life sentence after being convicted in Oklahoma state court of raping a 4-year-old child in 1997. "My legal team has been following the case closely and is reviewing the decision carefully. They will advise our team on the case's impact and what action, if any, is needed from our office," Stitt said. Oklahoma was handed down this morning by the U.S. Kevin Stitt said, "I am aware the ruling in McGirt v. The Court reaches the opposite conclusion only by disregarding the 'well settled' approach required by our precedents."
CREEK INBETWEEN LAND SERIES
Congress disestablished any reservation in a series of statutes leading up to Oklahoma statehood at the turn of the 19th century. "What has gone unquestioned for a century remains true today: A huge portion of Oklahoma is not a Creek Indian reservation. "None of this is warranted," Roberts added. "The decision today creates significant uncertainty for the State's continuing authority over any area that touches Indian affairs, ranging from zoning and taxation to family and environmental law." "On top of that, the Court has profoundly destabilized the governance of eastern Oklahoma," Roberts wrote. In his dissent, Roberts warned that "across this vast area" now deemed to be Native American land, "the State's ability to prosecute serious crimes will be hobbled and decades of past convictions could well be thrown out."

Gorsuch, a conservative justice, was joined in the majority by the court's four liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.Ĭhief Justice John Roberts dissented from the ruling, as did his fellow conservatives, Clarence Thomas Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh. "For MCA purposes, land reserved for the Creek Nation since the 19th century remains 'Indian country,'" Gorsuch wrote in the opinion in McGirt's case. The cases hinged on application of the Major Crimes Act, which gives federal authorities, rather than state prosecutors, jurisdiction over serious crimes committed by or against Native Americans in Native American territory. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
