Okla. Appeals Court: Cherokee, Chickasaw Nations Included In Tribal Jurisdiction Ruling

Thousands more criminal cases will now be affected after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled the Cherokee and Chickasaw nations are included in the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tribal jurisdictions in the McGirt v. Oklahoma case.

Both tribes and state leaders said the decision was expected. However, it's still going to create a lot of new work for tribal courts and federal prosecutors. It will also mean victims may have to start their cases all over again. 

"It's a wonderful day," Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. He said tribal leaders have been waiting for this day for months, the day the court agrees the Cherokee Nation is sovereign from the state.

"To have another court affirm that - particularly attaching McGirt to the Cherokee reservation - it has a great impact in terms of criminal jurisdiction," Hoskin said. 

This decision comes from two cases against Chickasaw citizen Shaun Bosse and Cherokee Citizen Travis Hogner. Bosse was convicted and sentenced to death in the 2010 killings of Katrina Griffin and her two young children. Hogner was charged for felony pointing a firearm and domestic assault. The appeals court ruled both people should never have been tried by the state because the cases happened on tribal land.

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Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill said they have been preparing for this day for months. 

"We already filed over 300 criminal cases in the Cherokee nation tribal court knowing that the day was coming and that the state's cases would be dismissed, and we could run this as smoothly as we can," Hill said. 

The rulings affect all major crimes that have happened on Cherokee or Chickasaw Land, which now includes 27 more counties, for a total of 38 counties in Oklahoma. The ruling applies when a tribal citizen commits a major crime on Creek, Chickasaw or Cherokee land, then the crime will fall under tribal or federal jurisdiction. The same rule applies if a non-tribal member commits a crime on a tribal member. 

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said he's worried about this ruling will mean for crime victims. 

"Those families have to go through the process of a trial, again. And having them victimized in this way is just something that shakes my fiber, and certainly my heart," Hunter said. 

Hunter hopes Congress can act fast to allow the state and the tribes the ability to make new compacts to make sure justice is served for all Oklahomans. 

The Cherokee Nation said they have already set aside $10 million to go towards expanding their criminal justice and court systems. Hoskin said they have already looked at renting courtroom space at the Rogers County Courthouse. He said the tribes will need $35 million a year to have a fulling functioning system in place. 

The tribe at the center of the Supreme Court ruling, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, said they shared in the celebration with their fellow Nations.

You can read the tribe’s full statement below.

The Muscogee Nation shares in the celebration with our fellow Nations after today’s news of the affirmation of their reservation boundaries. The significance and joy brought on by these historic decisions, are a feeling we know all too well. But we are also dismayed that, as with the McGirt decision, some state leaders’ reactions are to immediately try to undermine this victory and return to the broken systems of the past through talk of legislation that waters down sovereign authority. We respect the sovereignty of our fellow tribes, and their decisions to do what is best for their respective Nations and citizens. Tribal leaders from these Nations understand the cultural responsibility they have to their citizenry better than anyone. We continue to believe that cooperation, collaboration, and increasing tribal capacity--not legislation that weakens tribal sovereignty--will provide greater security and prosperity for all Oklahomans.

The Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Christopher J. Wilson issued a statement after the ruling, saying,

Since the United States Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma was handed down in July 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma has been committed to ensuring that public safety is our top priority. The opinions released today by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in Hogner v. Oklahoma and Bosse v. Oklahoma only reinforce that commitment, said Acting United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “The Hogner and Bosse cases expand federal criminal jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by Indians or upon Indian victims in the territorial boundaries of the Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations.”

“In anticipation of today’s rulings, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has partnered with the district attorneys and tribal prosecutors within the Eastern District to identify cases which will be impacted by these decisions, said Acting United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “We have also forged strong working relationships with local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes occurring within Indian Country. Our office will be building on the framework we set in place to address crimes occurring within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation after the McGirt opinion. This framework includes creating Indian Country prosecution teams, securing attorneys and support staff from other U.S. Attorney’s offices to serve terms in the Eastern District, as well as establishing case intake and referral procedures in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“The expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction resulting from the Hogner & Bosse rulings will no doubt dramatically increase our caseload, but I am confident the men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District will rise to the challenge,” said Wilson.