{"id":23492,"date":"2022-04-26T16:04:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=23492"},"modified":"2022-04-26T16:04:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T20:04:01","slug":"supreme-court-takes-up-contentious-indian-country-case-on-final-day-of-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/04\/26\/supreme-court-takes-up-contentious-indian-country-case-on-final-day-of-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court takes up contentious Indian Country case on final day of session"},"content":{"rendered":" \"U.S.<\/a>
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, D.C., in March 2022. Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Supreme Court takes up contentious Indian Country case on final day of session<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, April 26, 2022<\/div>\r\n
By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n
Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. —\r\nThe nation’s highest court is set for another tribal sovereignty showdown as the state of Oklahoma continues efforts to weaken a landmark treaty rights decision.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn Wednesday morning, the final day of the October 2021 term<\/a>, the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> hears arguments in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta<\/em><\/a>. The closely-watched case stems from a historic ruling<\/a> — issued barely two years ago — in which Oklahoma was barred from prosecuting tribal citizens for crimes committed in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nUp until the McGirt<\/em> decision<\/a> from June 2020, the state had been illegally exercising jurisdiction on reservations for more than 100 years. While the ruling is rooted in promises made in tribal treaties, it merely confirms that authority for crimes committed by American Indians and Alaska Natives rests with tribal nations and with the United States, a situation common across Indian Country<\/a>.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) has taken a different view of the legal landscape, flooding the high court with dozens of petitions aimed at undermining McGirt<\/em> in as many ways possible. In public remarks, he’s repeatedly spoken of a crisis that he claims was brought about by a case that the state lost during his second year in office.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Oklahoma has been robbed of the authority to prosecute crimes,” Stitt said during the State of the State address<\/a> in February. “Put simply, McGirt<\/em> jeopardizes justice.”\r\n

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt: 2022 State of the State Address – February 7, 2022<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nDespite the rhetoric, the Supreme Court hasn’t been too receptive to Stitt’s efforts. So far, the justices have denied the vast majority of petitions from Oklahoma<\/a>, leaving in place not only the precedent in McGirt<\/em>, but also preventing the state’s past illegal prosecutions from being reopened for the time being.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAnd in agreeing to hear Castro-Huerta<\/em>, the high court is attempting to limit Stitt in some fashion. The case is limited to one question and one question only: whether the state of Oklahoma can prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indian victims, in Indian Country.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n“In the year and a half since the McGirt<\/em> decision, tribes have been working closely with state, local and federal partners to address public safety challenges and ensure we can provide a blanket of protection to everyone on our reservation,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.<\/a> of the Cherokee Nation<\/a> said in response to Stitt’s claims<\/a> in February.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“Meanwhile, Governor Stitt prioritized creating instability across Oklahoma, with nothing to show for his quest to overturn McGirt<\/em> but millions of wasted Oklahoma taxpayer dollars, and lost time that could have been spent working collaboratively on our shared safety goals,” Hoskin said of the Republican governor, who happens to be a Cherokee citizen.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBut unlike the arguments in McGirt<\/em>, and its predecessor Murphy<\/em><\/a>, tribes won’t be at the table when the Supreme Court takes up Castro-Huerta<\/em> on Wednesday. Although Indian Country interests have submitted a slew of briefs in support of tribal sovereignty, the hearing will be limited to three parties<\/a>.\r\n

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The U.S. Supreme Court Day Call<\/a> shows Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta<\/em> is the only case being argued on April 27, 2022. Castro-Huerta<\/em> is also the final case being heard by the court during its current term.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nUp first at the Castro-Huerta<\/em> hearing, scheduled to last 70 minutes, will be Oklahoma. Representing the state is Kannon K. Shanmugam<\/a>, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., who has argued 34 cases before the Supreme Court, according to his law firm.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe choice of Shanmugam stands in marked contrast to McGirt<\/em>, when the state was represented by Mithun Mansinghani, who serves as Oklahoma’s Solicitor General. His presentation back in May 2020<\/a> was the first time he had ever argued<\/a> before the Supreme Court.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe more experienced Shanmugam is among nearly a dozen attorneys — both from the Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General<\/a> as well as several in private practice — who have been writing briefs in Castro-Huerta<\/em>. \r\nThe state’s legal team argues that non-Indian criminal defendants should be prosecuted in the Oklahoma court system, instead of in the federal system, where they say punishments aren’t as strong.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n“For example, respondent was sentenced in state court to 35 years of imprisonment for his heinous conduct in severely neglecting his five-year-old stepdaughter, yet he accepted a federal plea of seven years,” Oklahoma’s final brief, submitted on April 15, reads<\/a>. Shanmugam has 35 minutes to present at the hearing.\r\n

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