Supreme Court tribal decision 'has upended Oklahoma's criminal justice system;' will ruling be curtailed?
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Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is grappling with the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year ruling that a large part of eastern central Oklahoma is an American Indian reservation.
The decision held that U.S. treaties gave the Muscogee (Creek) Nation a permanent home in Oklahoma—which meant that tribal members who commit crimes on the Creek Reservation can’t be prosecuted by the state of Oklahoma. Instead, they have to be tried by the federal government for major crimes or by tribal courts for other crimes.