Attorney General O’Connor Calls on U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn or Limit McGirt Decision
OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General John O’Connor today filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the court to overturn the 2020 McGirt ruling that held the state does not have jurisdiction to prosecute major crimes committed by Native Americans in a large portion of eastern Oklahoma, including the City of Tulsa.
Today’s petition also asks the court to narrow any application of the McGirt decision, including allowing the state to continue to imprison violent felons convicted before the McGirt ruling. Also, the petition asks the court to affirm the state’s authority to prosecute non-Native Americans who commit crimes against Native Americans in the former Muscogee (Creek) reservation revived by the Court in McGirt .
Attorney General O’Connor said the McGirt decision is “recklessly overbroad” and has thrown Oklahomans into danger of having no law enforcement respond to a call for help.
“Victims of atrocious crimes are being revictimized by going through the legal process a second time, and, in some instances, seeing their loved one’s killer set free because federal prosecutors cannot file the claims against the released convicts,” Attorney General O’Connor said. “Some theories sound good in concept but don’t work in the real world. The U.S. Supreme Court got this decision wrong and we are respectfully asking the Court to overturn its decision or to limit it to certain federal crimes. The most effective way to right this terrible wrong is for the court to overturn the McGirt decision. Without action, the negative consequences will damage Oklahomans for years to come.”
Read more »by Muskogee Politico - August 06, 2021 at 07:13PM
OK Attorney General calls on U.S. Supreme Court to overturn or limit McGirt decision
Click this headline to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico