The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider limiting the scope of its 2020 ruling that enhanced Native American tribal authority in Oklahoma in a case surrounding a man convicted of child neglect.
The state sought to have the highest court examine the case of Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta to consider whether justices should overturn or limit its 2020 landmark tribal sovereignty ruling, McGirt v. Oklahoma. The goal would be whether to determine if Oklahoma also has jurisdiction in cases that involve non-Native Americans committing crimes against Native Americans in Indian country. The court said the case would be set for argument in April, according to a one-paragraph grant notice.
“The fallout of the McGirt decision has been destructive,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wrote in a statement. “Criminals have used this decision to commit crimes without punishment. Victims of crime, especially Native victims, have suffered by being forced to relive their worst nightmare in a second trial or having justice elude them completely. “
While the governor called the Supreme Court decision a “victory,” the court ultimately denied the state’s request to overturn the McGirt ruling. The state asked justices to rule that non-Native Americans who commit crimes on Native American land against Native Americans should remain under Oklahoma’s jurisdiction.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR APPEALS IN LANDMARK MCGIRT CASE INVOLVING TRIBAL LAND IN OKLAHOMA
In the state court case, Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, 36, was convicted of neglecting his 5-year-old stepdaughter who has cerebral palsy and is legally blind. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, a state court voided his conviction, saying the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling deprived Oklahoma authorities of jurisdiction in Castro-Huerta’s case.
The decision in McGirt resulted in a significant portion of the eastern part of Oklahoma being recognized as a Native American reservation outside the jurisdiction of state authorities.
The Cherokee Nation celebrated the Supreme Court declining to revisit McGirt. “With this rejection of the state’s request in this case, the court affirms its decision in McGirt,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
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Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, who sought the highest court to hear the Castro-Huerta case and reexamine McGirt, called the decision a “step forward,” according to a statement.
“Narrowing the scope of this case will not alleviate all of McGirt’s harmful consequences in our State, but it would ensure that non-Indians who victimize Indians can be prosecuted under the same rules as perpetrators who victimize non-Indians. More importantly, it will guarantee Indian victims the same protection and justice that all other Oklahomans enjoy,” said O’Connor.
On Jan. 10, the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition to an Oklahoma appellate court decision that ruled criminal jurisdiction within Indian County does not apply retroactively to already decided state convictions, a question state officials sought to have reexamined as part of broader aspects to the McGirt decision.
