Federal Appeals from Oklahoma: Tenth Circuit Reference
Federal appeals from Oklahoma are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. This page records the statutory composition of the circuit and the appeal framework that applies to Oklahoma cases.
The Tenth Circuit
28 U.S.C. § 41 assigns Oklahoma, together with Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, to the Tenth Circuit:
Tenth Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Eleventh Alabama, Florida, Georgia.
From district court to circuit
A defendant convicted in an Oklahoma district court may appeal to the Tenth Circuit; the district courts themselves exercise original jurisdiction over the criminal case under 18 U.S.C. § 3231:
The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States. Nothing in this title
A defining Oklahoma appeal
McGirt v. Oklahoma traveled from the Oklahoma state system to the United States Supreme Court, which held that the Creek reservation remains Indian country for purposes of federal criminal law. The holding appears in the Court’s slip opinion:
Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word
The opinion is also available through CourtListener:
For MCA purposes, land reserved for the Creek Nation since the 19th century remains “Indian country.” Pp. 3–42. (a) Congress established a reservation for the Creek Nation. An 1833 Treaty fixed borders for a “permanent home to the whole Creek Nation of Indians,” 7 Stat. 418, and promised that the United States would “grant a patent, in fee simple, to the Creek nation of Indians for the [assigned] land” to continue “so long as they shall exist as a nation, and continue to occupy the country hereb
Primary sources
Each citation below links to the primary source and quotes it verbatim. Verify the current text of any statute at the linked source before relying on it.
- 28 U.S.C. § 41 — Number and Composition of Circuits (Cornell LII)law.cornell.edu
“Tenth Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming. Eleventh Alabama, Florida, Georgia.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 3231 — District Courts (Cornell LII)law.cornell.edu
“The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States. Nothing in this title”
- McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U.S. ___ (2020) — Slip Opinionsupremecourt.gov
“Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word”
- McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) — CourtListener Opinioncourtlistener.com
“For MCA purposes, land reserved for the Creek Nation since the 19th century remains “Indian country.” Pp. 3–42. (a) Congress established a reservation for the Creek Nation. An 1833 Treaty fixed borders for a “permanent home to the whole Creek Nation of Indians,” 7 Stat. 418, and promised that the United States would “grant a patent, in fee simple, to the Creek nation of Indians for the [assigned] land” to continue “so long as they shall exist as a nation, and continue to occupy the country hereb”