Cherokee Tribal Lands Do Include Parts of Tulsa County
Video Transcribed: My name is Brian L. Jackson. I’m a McGirt attorney. And today, I’d like to talk to y’all about some updates in the McGirt case. Recently, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down two important decisions regarding the status of the Cherokee tribe and the Chickasaw tribe. In both cases, the court did find that the reservations were intact for the purposes of criminal jurisdiction.
Now, what that means is that anytime there is a crime committed in those territories, which the Cherokee tribal lands do include parts of Tulsa County, anytime crime
is committed in those territories by someone who is an Indian or against someone who is an Indian, then federal law jurisdiction does apply and the estate would have no jurisdiction.
So essentially, if charges were to be filed in state court, under those circumstances, the state would have no authority to hear those cases and they would have to be dismissed into federal court or Indian court. It is an interesting development and we’ll keep you posted as far as what’s going on with that. Thanks, guys. Have a good day.