![\"\"](\"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Oklahoma-Land-300x200.jpg\")
BBC \u2014 The US Supreme Court has ruled about half of Oklahoma belongs to Native Americans, in a landmark case that also quashed a child rape conviction.<\/p>\nBBC \u2014 The US Supreme Court has ruled about half of Oklahoma belongs to Native Americans, in a landmark case that also quashed a child rape conviction.<\/p>\n
The justices decided 5-4 that an eastern chunk of the state, including its second-biggest city, Tulsa, should be recognised as part of a reservation.<\/p>\n
Jimcy McGirt, who was convicted in 1997 of raping a girl, brought the case.<\/p>\n
He cited the historical claim of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to the land where the assault occurred.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s decision in McGirt v Oklahoma is seen as one of the most far-reaching cases for Native Americans before the highest US court in decades.<\/p>\n
The ruling means some tribe members found guilty in state courts for offences committed on the land at issue can now challenge their convictions.<\/p>\n Only federal prosecutors will have the power to criminally prosecute Native Americans accused of crimes in the area.<\/p>\n Tribe members who live within the boundaries may also be exempt from state taxes, according to Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n Some 1.8 million people – of whom about 15% are Native American – live on the land, which spans three million acres.<\/p>\n Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative appointed by US President Donald Trump, sided with the court’s four liberals and also wrote the opinion.<\/p>\n He referred to the Trail of Tears, the forcible 19th Century relocation of Native Americans, including the Creek Nation, to Oklahoma.<\/p>\n The US government said at the time that the new land would belong to the tribes in perpetuity.<\/p>\n Justice Gorsuch wrote: “Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law.<\/p>\n “Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word.”<\/p>\n The ruling overturned McGirt’s prison sentence. He could still, however, be tried in federal court.<\/p>\n McGirt, now 71, was convicted in 1997 in Wagoner County of raping a four-year-old girl.<\/p>\n He did not dispute his guilt before the Supreme Court, but argued that only federal authorities should have been entitled to prosecute him.<\/p>\n McGirt is a member of the Seminole Nation.<\/p>\n His lawyer, Ian Heath Gershengorn, told CNBC<\/a>: “The Supreme Court reaffirmed today that when the United States makes promises, the courts will keep those promises.”<\/p>\n In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said the decision would destabilise the state’s courts.<\/p>\n He wrote: “The State’s ability to prosecute serious crimes will be hobbled and decades of past convictions could well be thrown out.<\/p>\n “The decision today creates significant uncertainty for the State’s continuing authority over any area that touches Indian affairs, ranging from zoning and taxation to family and environmental law.”<\/p>\nWhat did the justices say?<\/h2>\n
What about the rape case?<\/h2>\n
How might Oklahoma’s criminal justice system be affected?<\/h2>\n