SCOTUS Backs Oklahoma Officials, for Now, on Tribal Prosecutions

A divided U.S. Supreme Court stopped an Oklahoma criminal court ruling from taking effect, heeding the state’s warning of a public safety disaster as the justices confront fallout from their landmark tribal land ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

The justices on Wednesday granted the state’s request to pause the ruling while the high court considers granting review of Oklahoma’s appeal. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented.

The court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt said that, for purposes of enforcing the federal Major Crimes Act, land reserved for the Creek Nation in what’s now Oklahoma remains “Indian country"—that ...