If the State of Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction to prosecute Indians for crimes alleged to have occurred on tribal reservation land (now considered to include nearly half the State of Oklahoma), what about the those wrongfully prosecuted and held and those required to pay fines and costs that the State had no authority to collect? That will have to be decided by Oklahoma courts. Wirth Law Office is monitoring class-action lawsuits demanding compensation from the State:
- Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Jason Nicholson, et al. v. Kevin Stitt, et al. was filed in Okmulgee County District Court CJ-2020-94 on July 13, 2020. This lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of Indians improperly prosecuted by the State within the territory of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the return of fines and costs paid to the State of Oklahoma by Indians unlawfully prosecuted in Tulsa County District Court, McIntosh County District Court, Okmulgee County District Court, Wagoner County District Court, Muskogee County District Court, Okfuskee County District Court, Mayes County District Court, Rogers County District Court, and the dozens of city court located within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. On November 24, 2020, the case was dismissed by Judge Pandee Ramirez. The plaintiffs filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court on December 18, 2020:
