US Prosecutor Hiring Flounders After Supreme Court Tribal Ruling

A federal prosecutor’s office in rural Oklahoma is struggling to hire new attorneys needed to handle soaring caseloads prompted by a Supreme Court decision that re-mapped Indian law jurisdiction.

The Muskogee-based Eastern District has finally secured Justice Department funding to expand from what was recently the second-smallest US attorney’s office in the nation — with only eight criminal prosecutors — to a capacity of 159 employees.

The office isn’t even close to filling the new slots, US Attorney Christopher Wilson said. He’s been trying to spread the word since early this year but has yet to find enough qualified applicants ...