Supreme Court agrees McGirt ruling not retroactive

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Oklahoma appellate court decision that the high court’s landmark McGirt ruling on criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country does not apply retroactively to state convictions that are finalized.

The high court on Monday rejected the appeal of Clifton Parish, who argued the state did not have jurisdiction over him.

Parish is a member of the Choctaw Nation and was convicted in state court of a killing that happened on land within the tribe’s historic reservation.

The ruling was praised by Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, who is seeking to limit or overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt.