McGirt v. Oklahoma

The Court held that much of eastern Oklahoma remains a Creek reservation for purposes of federal criminal law.

Overview

Jimcy McGirt was convicted in Oklahoma court for crimes on land the Creek Nation claimed under nineteenth-century treaties. Justice Gorsuch, for a 5-4 majority, held that Congress never disestablished the Creek reservation, so under the Major Crimes Act federal rather than state courts have jurisdiction over Indian country crimes. The ruling, grounded in the text of treaties and the solemn promises of the United States, honored reservation boundaries at the expense of a century of state practice, transferring thousands of prosecutions to federal and tribal courts.