While reading a magazine from two years ago, I came across an article which described a case that was then heading the to the U.S. Supreme Court which could change the boundaries of the State of Oklahoma. No. 17-1107, Sharp vs. Murphy. The case is a capital murder case which may or may not have been on tribal land, which is why the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the land is tribal land, under a treaty from 1866, then Murphy should have been tried in federal, not state, court. I hadn’t heard of any ruling related to that and when looking today, February 23, 2020, I found, on the Court’s website the case is listed as being put on the Court’s calendar for re argument. When the case is argued again and ruled on, it could determine whether or not the 1866 borders of the Creek Nation are still an “Indian Reservation” under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(a).
As an update, the ruling on this case was issued on July 9, 2020.
“The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for
the Tenth Circuit is affirmed for the reasons”
This ruling means that the Indian defendants have to be tried it Federal Court, as the State Court had no jurisdiction over them.