Convicted child rapist Jimcy McGirt will get a new trial following a momentous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9.

McGirt, serving 500 years each for rape and molestation and life without parole for forcible sodomy, appealed his 1997 conviction in Wagoner County District Court and the appeal made its way to the Supreme Court.

The appeal was based on the contention by McGirt that he is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Seminole Nation and that the alleged crimes took place on Indian land in Wagoner County.

Although the McGirt case was heard this year by the Supreme Court, an earlier case was heard last year involving the appeal by convicted killer Patrick Murphy.

Murphy was convicted in McIntosh County District Court of the 1999 murder and dismemberment of George Jacobs Sr., 49, near Henryetta in a rural area of the county.

Murphy, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, appealed the conviction, arguing that the State of Oklahoma had no right to prosecute him because he is a Native American and the crime occurred on a reservation.

Murphy’s lawyer, Ian Gershengorn, said the crime occurred in an area of Eastern Oklahoma granted to the Creek Nation by the Federal Government in 1866, and the area is still considered an Indian Reservation because it was never disestablished by Congress. Therefore, Murphy’s case should have been tried in federal court, according to Gershengorn.

Although the Supreme Court held a hearing last year on Murphy’s appeal, it did not make a ruling, instead turning its attention to McGirt this year.

McGirt’s appeal was based on the same issues put forth by Murphy, arguing that as an enrolled member of federally recognized tribes – the Seminole and Muscogee (Creek) Nations – the state of Oklahoma couldn’t prosecute him, according to the Major Crimes Act of 1885.

That law states the federal government alone has the authority to prosecute any major crime committed by an enrolled member of a tribe on their own reservation. The high court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the land

The high court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that the land in question in the McGirt case was part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s original reservation dating back to 1866 and that the area continued to be part of the reservation for purposes of criminal prosecution.

The justices invalidated McGirt’s state court conviction.

Assuming there will be a trial in federal court, it will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of Oklahoma in Muskogee.

When a trial might take place is hard to say.

“This is a work in progress,” First Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Wilson said following the Supreme Court decision.

Wilson said his office is waiting for a mandate from the Supreme Court before taking any action.

Potentially, the reversal of McGirt’s conviction could have far-reaching effects in state and federal courts as far as criminal prosecution goes.

Possibly hundreds of cases prosecuted over the years by the state involving Indians on what the Supreme Court calls Indian could be overturned and retried in federal court.

Although McGirt’s case is specific to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Court’s decision is likely to also apply to reservations of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations.

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation boundaries composes three million acres in Eastern Oklahoma, including most of the city of Tulsa.

The boundaries for all five nations consist of over 19 million acres and nearly the entire eastern half of Oklahoma.

When Oklahoma became a state in 1907 federal territorial courts transferred all non-federal cases involving Native Americans to state courts. While the Supreme Court ruling addressed a crimi

While the Supreme Court ruling addressed a criminal matter, it could have implications for civil matters as well.

“This (decision) doesn’t have any direct implications on civil matters,” Wilson said.

But, he couldn’t say if it might down the road.

“I have no expertise on that matter,” he said. “Our concern is the criminal jurisdiction.”

However, after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Murphy case last year, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter stated, “This case has implications for millions of Oklahomans…Meanwhile, my team and I will continue proactively working with our tribal partners on our shared interests.”

In an interview with the Tulsa World shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Indian law expert Mike McBride III, said, “I think this is the most important decision in Oklahoma history in terms of sovereignty for the state of Oklahoma and sovereignty for the five tribes.”

But, he told the World, he doesn’t believe there will be a flood of appeals by tribal members seeking to overturn their state convictions.

“There may be many cases where there’s a Native American who had committed a crime on Indian lands, or Indian Country under the Major Crimes Act statute, that is in jail or prison and would want to challenge that conviction,” McBride, an attorney with Crowe & Dunlevy said. “But they have to weigh how long is that going to take and ‘if I get retried in federal court is the federal sentence potentially going to be worse than what I’m serving already?’”

Following the Supreme Court’s announcement in the McGirt case, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation released the following statement:

“The Muscogee (Creek) Nation respects and welcomes the Court’s decision calling for additional argument. The Nation remains steadfast in its conviction that the 1866 Creek Reservation has never been disestablished and very much looks forward to this opportunity to present further arguments to the Court this Fall.

“In the meantime, the Nation will continue to serve all citizens within its borders, Indian and non-Indian alike, to make its strong economic impact felt within Oklahoma which exceeded $860 million in 2017; and to enjoy a positive and productive relationship with the State of Oklahoma.”