TAHLEQUAH, Okla.: U.S. Attorney William Barr promised more manpower and federal aid to Oklahoma on Wednesday to help tribal governments and federal prosecutors deal with an increase in criminal cases stemming from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.
During a visit to the Cherokee Nation headquarters, Barr said the U.S. Department of Justice plans to fund two federal prosecutor positions in the northern and eastern U.S. districts of Oklahoma to handle the increased caseloads.
The high courts July ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma determined that a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains a Muscogee (Creek) Nation Indian reservation. As a result, either the federal government or the tribal nation has jurisdiction over crimes committed by or against Native Americans, not the state.
Obviously we didnt plan on the McGirt decision when we were deploying the resources from the last budget cycle,…