MARLOW – City council members have approved a cross-deputation agreement with the Chickasaw Nation in connection with the controversial McGirt and Bosse court cases.
Joint investigations and cross-deputations between agencies and tribes have increased since a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in July when justices ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma and other former reservations in the state remain under the control of the Five Tribes.
Marlow is located inside Chickasaw Nation’s territory. The council approved the agreement with the Chickasaws April 27.
Jimcy McGirt, the defendant at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court case, was convicted in 1997 for raping and sexually abusing a 4-year-old. He was sentenced to two 500-year prison terms and life without parole on a third charge.
His Wagoner County District Court convictions ultimately led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the State of Oklahoma cannot prosecute criminal cases against American Indian defendants within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation in eastern Oklahoma, which includes most of Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has since extended that ruling to Native American criminal defendants whose crimes were committed within the boundaries of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations, as well. The reservations of those tribes, like that of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, were never disestablished by Congress, jurists determined after conducting evidentiary hearings.
Marlow City Manager Jason McPherson said the court case also applies to local traffic laws, not just felonies.
“When a Native American gets stopped, they have to produce a valid tribal card when confronted by an officer for any infraction,” he said. “We can’t even handle traffic citations any longer. They must go to tribal court in Ada.”
However, it’s unclear if Marlow or the tribe collects the fines and fees from traffic stops.
“The question has been asked but hasn’t been answered,” McPherson said. “The Chickasaws don’t have the answer either. We’re going to keep peeling back the layers on this issue.”
Stephen Greetham, chief legal counsel for the Chickasaw Nation, could not be reached for comment.
Marlow’s cross-deputation agreement with the Chickasaw Nation allows each entity to work together when the need arises. For example, the Marlow police can enter a Chickasaw Nation housing development located in city limits if needed. Likewise, the Chickasaw Nation’s Lighthorse Police Department has the same legal authority to enforce laws on Marlow streets if their help is requested.
“Right now, we don’t know where this thing is going,” McPherson said. “We’re trying to get a handle on it. The Chickasaws are good to work with. We’ve had some small issues, but nothing big. We’ve had several internal discussions with our officers on how to proceed” since McGirt and Bosse were decided by the courts.