Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gorsuch Sides With Liberal Justices To Rip Majority's 'Embarrassing' Ruling About Crimes On Indigenous Lands

Gorsuch Sides With Liberal Justices To Rip Majority's 'Embarrassing' Ruling About Crimes On Indigenous Lands
National Archives; Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images

On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states have jurisdiction concurrent with the federal government to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indigenous peoples against Indigenous peoples on tribal lands.

The decision led by the court's conservative theocratic majority is being cited as a clear attack on tribal sovereignty.




One critic of the decision was usually conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Controversial Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Gorsuch joined the minority opinion with the court's three liberal Justices—Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.

Gorsuch wrote:

"Today the Court rules for Oklahoma."
"In doing so, the Court announces that, when it comes to crimes by non-Indians against tribal members within tribal reservations, Oklahoma may 'exercise jurisdiction'. Ante, at 4."
"But this declaration comes as if by oracle, without any sense of the history recounted above and unattached to any colorable legal authority. Truly, a more ahistorical and mistaken statement of Indian law would be hard to fathom."

He added:

"Tribes are not private organizations within state boundaries."
"Their reservations are not glorified private campgrounds."
"Tribes are sovereigns."
"And the preemption rule applicable to them is exactly the opposite of the normal rule. Tribal sovereignty means that the criminal laws of the States 'can have no force' on tribal members within tribal bounds unless and until Congress clearly ordains otherwise."

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) issued a joint statement on the ruling.

In a press release, they wrote:

"Today, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, overturned the long-held understanding that states do not have authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country."
"The Court, in Castro-Huerta v. Oklahoma, held that 'the Federal Government and the State have concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country', which strikes against tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction to protect tribal citizens."
"The consequences of the decision–for Tribal Nations, the federal government, and states–will take time to unravel."

NCAI President Fawn Sharp stated:

"The Supreme Court’s decision today is an attack on tribal sovereignty and the hard-fought progress of our ancestors to exercise our inherent sovereignty over our own territories."
"It was only a few months ago that Congress loudly supported tribal sovereignty and tribal criminal jurisdiction with the passage of the Violence Against Women’s Act, reaffirming the right of Tribal Nations to protect their own people and communities, but make no mistake, today, the Supreme Court has dealt a massive blow to tribal sovereignty and Congress must, again, respond.”

NARF Executive Director John Echohawk said:

"Unauthorized and unconsented intrusions on tribal sovereignty are antithetical to tribal sovereignty and tribal treaty rights."




Gorsuch further stated:

"In the end, the Court cannot fault our predecessors for today’s decision. The blame belongs only with this Court here and now."
"Standing before us is a mountain of statutes and precedents making plain that Oklahoma possesses no authority to prosecute crimes against tribal members on tribal reservations until it amends its laws and wins tribal consent."
"This Court may choose to ignore Congress’s statutes and the Nation’s treaties, but it has no power to negate them."
"The Court may choose to disregard our precedents, but it does not purport to overrule a single one."
"As a result, today’s decision surely marks an embarrassing new entry into the anticanon of Indian law. But its mistakes need not—and should not—be repeated."

While on the surface, allowing local and state jurisdiction on tribal lands seems beneficial in prosecuting criminals, Kavanaugh's opinion effectively rules tribal lands are part of any state whose borders they fall within.

But tribal lands are held by sovereign nations through treaties with the United States government and most often predate the creation of the individual states. They also cross state and international borders.

Treaties with tribal nations should be honored in the same way as any other treaty the USA signed with another sovereign nation, such as Canada, Germany or Japan.

South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem tried to force Indigenous nations within her state borders to ignore pandemic protocols, threatening to call out law enforcement or the National Guard.

A ruling such as Kavanaugh's gives credence to Noem's overreach.

More from News

Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less
A couple facing sunset view
Mindy Sabiston/Unsplash

Guys Reveal The White Lies They Tell Their Significant Others

When you're in a long-term relationship, the conversations you have with your significant other tend to be a lot more casual than when emotions were more intense at the start.

The viewpoints shared on various topics and the divulging of information imparted can either be very engaging or droning.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four people standing together; one holds a guitar.
American Idol/ABC

Carnie Wilson Speaks Out After Daughter Hit With 'Cruel' Comments Following 'American Idol' Audition

Carnie Wilson of the '90s pop vocal trio Wilson Phillips spoke out in response to the slew of cruel comments leveled at her 19-year-old daughter Lola Bonfiglio after she auditioned for American Idol .

"I just wanna say, we're human, and the internet is so cruel. It can be so cruel," Wilson said during the "Music of the ’90s" panel at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut.

Keep ReadingShow less