In order to handle the criminal case load as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision, the Cherokee Nation has spent $10 million to upgrade its justice system. While McGirt only directly affected the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recently handed down several decisions which applied McGirt to the Cherokee, Seminole, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The Cherokees are trying to deal with the hundreds of cases that are leaving the state of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system and entering either the federal system or the tribal system. Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill says some cases might not get retried in the federal or tribal courts because of how long ago they occurred.
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