A federal judge ruled against the Muscogee Nation’s initial effort to limit a Tulsa County prosecutor from trying Indigenous people who aren’t citizens of the tribe on its reservation.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell wrote that federal law does not prevent Tulsa County prosecutors from asserting concurrent criminal jurisdiction over Indigenous, non-Muscogee citizens within the reservation boundaries.
Frizzell denied a preliminary injunction to prevent District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler from prosecuting those individuals for crimes that wouldn’t fall under the Major Crimes Act.
Under the McGirt precedent, tribes or federal prosecutors are given criminal jurisdiction to charge nonmember Indigenous defendants. Frizzell wrote that it does not extend outside those major crimes.
He cited Supreme Court caselaw in the Castro-Huerta case, which states, “the default is that States may exercise criminal jurisdiction within their territory.”
Muscogee Nation leaders panned the decision but vowed to continue.
“The Muscogee Nation is disappointed that the federal court did not agree with the preliminary injunction request against DA Kunzweiler, but the case is not over,” a statement from a tribe spokesperson said. “The fight against unlawful state authority over Indians in the Muscogee Reservation will continue, and we are not going to allow today’s unfortunate ruling to discourage the Nation’s ongoing efforts to defend its sovereignty on its territory.”
The next stop for the case will likely be the US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
Gov. Kevin Stitt praised Frizzell’s decision.
“Our DA’s have worked diligently to keep our communities safe, even as some in our state questioned their authority to do so,” Stitt said in a written statement. “Our nation was founded on the idea that laws should be applied equally regardless of race. This decision confirms that.”
Muscogee Nation has long fought with Stitt and other state interests over sovereignty in the wake of the McGirt ruling. This summer, Tulsa and Muscogee leaders reached a deal to grant the tribe jurisdiction and settle a 2023 lawsuit. The agreement, however, does not include Kunzweiler’s office.
This article was originally published by KOSU. You can see the original story here.