Federal judge allows cases challenging Oklahoma prosecutors’ authority to proceed

A federal judge declined to dismiss two lawsuits challenging whether northeast Oklahoma prosecutors can prosecute Native Americans for crimes committed in Indian Country, according to KOSU. The U.S. Department of Justice and several tribes are suing district attorneys Matthew Ballard and Carol Iski, alleging they exceeded their jurisdiction by prosecuting tribal members on reservations outside their own tribal nations.

Ballard and Iski argued the cases should be dismissed based on the recent Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decision Tulsa v. O’Brien, which held that state courts have jurisdiction over non-member Indians in Indian Country. U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan ruled that Oklahoma law does not align with federal law on the issue and denied the motions to dismiss, according to KOSU. The DOJ, Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Muscogee Nation are plaintiffs in both cases, with the Chickasaw Nation also joining the case against Ballard.