A federal judge is refusing to dismiss two cases that impact who can prosecute Native Americans accused of crimes in Indian Country in Oklahoma.
The U.S. Department of Justice and several tribes in Oklahoma are suing two northeast Oklahoma prosecutors, Matthew Ballard and Carol Iski, alleging they have overstepped their jurisdiction.
As state district attorneys, both Ballard and Iski have prosecuted tribal members who have committed crimes on reservations that are not home to their tribal nations. Ballard (District 12) and Iski (District 25) are the district attorneys for Craig, Mayes and Rogers Counties and McIntosh and Okmulgee Counties, respectively.
Both prosecutors argued the case should be dismissed based on a recent decision of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in Tulsa v. O’Brien. The court ruled that state courts have jurisdiction over non-member Indians who commit crimes in Indian Country.
But U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan ruled that Oklahoma law does not match up with federal law on this matter and denied the district attorneys’ efforts to challenge tribal jurisdiction. Eagan still has to make a ruling on the case, which could be followed by an appeal on the losing side.
The DOJ, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Muscogee Nation are suing Carol Iski. The same plaintiffs are suing Ballard, along with Chickasaw Nation.
Jurisdictional clashes have arisen since the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma case, with multiple federal lawsuits being filed within the last year due to legal misinterpretation and confusion.
This article was originally published by KOSU. You can see the original story here.