The debate over tribal sovereignty and legal jurisdiction is heating up once again in Oklahoma.

 

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office is charging a Cherokee citizen Dallas Stites with drunk driving on the Creek Turnpike with a small child in the car. This case comes on the heels of a recent ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that gave the State of Oklahoma concurrent jurisdiction over some crimes involving tribal members.

 

A December ruling in a similar case has allowed the state to proceed with the prosecution of an Osage citizen.

 

Tribal attorneys oppose the ruling, calling it an attempt to overturn the McGirt decision and a violation of federal law. The U.S. Department of Justice has also stepped into the argument and filed lawsuits against two Oklahoma district attorneys for prosecuting tribal citizens in certain cases.

 

The debate may mean that the question will once again end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.