SCOTUS won't block lower court's ruling in Tulsa traffic ticket jurisdiction case

WASHINGTON (KFOR) - The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to end the stay requested by the City of Tulsa in its fight for jurisdiction over Native Americans in Indian Country.

Justin Hooper, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, was cited for speeding in 2018 by Tulsa police in a part of the city within the historic boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

He paid a $150 fine for the ticket, but filed a lawsuit after the Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma.

He argued that the city did not have jurisdiction because his offense was committed by a Native American in Indian Country.

A municipal court and a federal district court judge both sided with the city, but a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision in June, saying the city does not have authority to prosecute crimes committed by or against tribal citizens while they are within the boundaries of reservation land.

Last week, Justice Gorsuch issued a temporary stay while the court reviewed the case, but now, the justices have officially rejected an emergency appeal by Tulsa to block the ruling while the legal case continues.

There were no noted dissents among the justices Friday, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a short separate opinion, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, in which he said that Tulsa's appeal raised an important question about whether the city can enforce municipal laws against Native Americans.

Kavanaugh wrote that nothing in the appeals court decision “prohibits the City from continuing to enforce its municipal laws against all persons, including Indians, as the litigation progresses.”