Supreme Court Takes Up New Oklahoma Tribal Land Case

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a dispute from Oklahoma involving American Indian territory that has vast criminal justice, tax, and regulatory implications for the region, following the high court’s inability last term to reach a decision in a similar case.

With Justice Neil Gorsuch recused from last term’s case, Sharp v. Murphy, Chief Justice John Roberts announced in June that the court would hear argument in the case again this term. That raised speculation of whether the eight-member court was deadlocked, why, and what would be different this time.

Patrick Dwayne Murphy, a member of the Muscogee ...