Supreme Court Rules Non-Tribal Cases on Tribal Land can be Prosecuted by Oklahoma

The Supreme Court has declared the state of Oklahoma is now eligible to prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes against Native Americans if it occurs on tribal land. This decision slices a previous 2020 ruling that Oklahoma was not able to prosecute Native Americans for crimes on tribal land

Much of Oklahoma is covered by tribal land, such as Tulsa, the state’s second largest city. After the initial 2020 decision, a change was made that said Oklahoma could not prosecute cases that took place on tribal land even if the perpetrator or the victim was a Native American.

Justice Brett Cavanaugh has disclosed that the state’s goal is to protect crime victims no matter if they are Native American or not, especially since 43% of Oklahoma is now tribal territory and the state could not previously prosecute crimes on tribal territory.