Oklahoma
State Senate
Senator Micheal Bergstrom
Senator Micheal Bergstrom
Senate
District 1
July
13, 2020
Capitol Considerations by Senator Micheal Bergstrom
Understanding the McGirt ruling
The Supreme Court handed down an opinion last week that will drastically change the court system in our state, specifically in Eastern Oklahoma.
For
those that need a little background—this case centered around Jimmy
McGirt, a Seminole man who argued that he could not be found guilty
of his sex crimes by the state of Oklahoma because the actions in
question took place on Muscogee Creek Nation lands that were
guaranteed to the nation in an 1866 treaty.
Ultimately,
the Supreme Court sided with McGirt in a split 5-4 decision ruling
that the Muscogee Creek Nation reservation was not officially
terminated at Oklahoma statehood. This ruling now means that
essentially all of Eastern Oklahoma is still considered an Indian
Reservation when it comes to criminal law.
For
those concerned about what this ruling means, please do not panic. It
doesn’t take away your property rights, and you still live in the
state of Oklahoma. However, this ruling will impact crimes committed
by a tribal member on Native American lands, as well as crimes
committed by non-tribal members against tribal victims on this land.
Basically,
tribal members serving sentences on state law crimes now have a cause
of action and a path to potentially have their conviction overturned
and release granted, since the ruling stated that Oklahoma didn’t
have jurisdiction over these crimes. This does not mean that every
incarcerated Native American will suddenly be released from prison,
and any crime committed by a non-tribal member on tribal land will
still be prosecuted by the state. Cases impacted by the ruling will
be litigated on a case-by-case basis, and some crimes could be newly
prosecuted if they fall under the federal Major Crimes Act, General
Crimes Act, or Assimilative
Crimes Act; or the crime is not included as a crime in the tribal
code; and it is not beyond the statute of limitations.
Because
of the impact this ruling will have on the judicial system, Attorney
General Mike Hunter and the Muscogee Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw,
Choctaw and Seminole Nations announced that they’ve made
substantial progress toward an agreement in addressing the
significant jurisdictional issues raised by the Supreme Court’s
decision. They will present this plan of action to Congress and the
U.S. Department of Justice. In a joint statement, the group also
reiterated that they remain committed to ensuring all offenders face
justice for crimes they’ve committed.
It
will be interesting to see how this ruling plays out over the course
of the next few months and years. I’ll keep a close eye on this and
update you as more information becomes available.
Finally,
thank you for the confidence you have placed in me to serve as your
State Senator for another four-year term. I know we have our work cut
out for us, but I’m positive we can make a true difference in our
state by working together. As always, if there is something I can
help you with, please feel free to reach out to my office. You can
email me at Micheal.Bergstrom@oksenate.gov
or call 405-521-5561.
-END-
MAKE
IT COUNT OKLAHOMA!
An undercount in the census of just 2 percent can cost the state $1.8
billion in lost federal money over the next 10 years. Fill out your
census form, Oklahoma. Learn more at: www.2020census.gov.
-
