Apr 1, 2021
Staff file photoChuck Sullivan, the District 18 District Attorney, says his office is working on the next steps after a state appeals court decision Thursday that will impact thousands of Pittsburg County cases.
District 18 District Attorney Chuck Sullivan said his office is working on the next steps after a state appeals court decision Thursday that will impact thousands of Pittsburg County cases.
All five Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals judges ruled Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Courtâs July 2020 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma applies to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma â meaning at least 6,000 Pittsburg County cases could be challenged.
Oklahoma Appeals Court: Choctaw, Seminole Nations Included In Tribal Jurisdiction Ruling
The Oklahoma court of criminal appeals said all five tribes in eastern Oklahoma are recognized as sovereign reservation land and now included in the Supreme Court’s ruling tribal jurisdiction.
The appeals court ruled on cases involving the Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations earlier this month. This new decision includes the Choctaw and Seminole Nations, totaling almost 40 counties. We re definitely confident we re ready to handle the expanded jurisdiction, said Cory Ortega, Assistant Tribal Prosecutor.
Ortega said that the nation s court staff will make criminals face justice. We don t intend on releasing criminals. We don t intend on assisting folks that have committed violent crimes and would be getting out of jail. Our job as a prosecutor is to protect the community and that s our goal and we re ready to do it, Ortega said.
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