Okla. asks for review of controversial McGirt decision

Conservative News DailyAugust 7, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 28: The Guardian or Authority of Law, created by sculptor James Earle Fraser, rests on the side of the U.S. Supreme Court on September 28, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:57 PM PT – Saturday, August 7, 2021

The attorney general of Oklahoma has asked the Supreme Court to review the landmark McGirt decision. In a filing on Friday, the recently appointed Attorney General John O’Connor asked to review the ruling, which the state has claimed infringes on its sovereignty.

The McGirt ruling in 2020 made it so that crimes committed on Oklahoma’s tribal land involving tribal members must be prosecuted federally instead of by the state courts. The state has argued this endangers residents due to their lack of ability to prosecute.

The Supreme Court got the McGirt decision wrong, and we are respectfully asking the Court to overturn its decision or to limit it to certain federal crimes.

Without action, the negative consequences will damage Oklahomans for years to come.

More: https://t.co/aJwhGagW06. (2/2)

— Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor (@Okla_OAG) August 6, 2021

“The decision in McGirt now drives thousands of crime victims to seek justice from federal and tribal prosecutors whose offices are not equipped to handle those demands,” states the petition. “Numerous crimes are going uninvestigated and unprosecuted, endangering public safety.”

In a statement, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. replied that he believes the state wants to destroy their reservations and is only after advancing an “anti-Indian political agenda.”