OKMULGEE – U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell denied a Motion for Preliminary Injunction for Muscogee (Creek) Nation on Friday, Nov. 7 in case 25-CV-75-GKF-JFJ, MCN v. Steve Kunzweiler. A hearing for the motion was initially held on Thursday, Oct. 9. In the suit, the Nation sought a preliminary injunction to prevent defendant Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler from asserting concurrent criminal jurisdiction over non-Mvskoke Tribal citizens who commit crimes not covered by the Major Crimes Act (MCA) on the MCN Reservation.
According to Judge Frizell, four factors must be shown to obtain a preliminary injunction. The first factor is that the petitioner will “substantially succeed on the merits,” or can they win a full case. The second factor is that the petitioner will suffer irreparable injury if the injunction is denied. The third factor is that the petitioner’s threatened injury outweighs the injury the opposing party will suffer under the injunction. The fourth factor is that the injunction must not be adverse to public interest. Judge Frizzell’s opinion stated that only one of these categories was favored.
According to the opinion, the Nation failed to make a strong showing with regard to the likelihood of success on the merits and balancing of harms. Furthermore, the opinion stated that MCN is not preempted by federal law from prosecuting non-Mvskoke Tribal citizens who commit crimes not covered by the MCA the Mvskoke Reservation. Citing Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, the opinion stated that prosecuting non-Mvskoke Tribal citizens does not unlawfully infringe on Tribal self-governance.
The opinion also noted that Tulsa is a unique city, one lying within the boundaries of three Tribal jurisdictions: Mvskoke, Cherokee and Osage. It stated that it is within both Tribal and state interests to prosecute non-Mvskoke Tribal citizens that commit crimes against Mvskoke citizens. If one of those sovereign entities prosecutes a non-Mvskoke Tribal citizen, it does not prevent the other from doing the same, the court reasoned. The opinion noted that although the MCN recently opened a traffic court in Jenks, it only hears traffic violation cases.
In regard to threatened injury to the petitioner, the opinion stated that injury to the MCN’s interest did not outweigh the harm the injunction would cause the defendant. It also stated that denying the injunction would not adversely affect public interest because Tulsa County has a proportionate number of staff members that enforces Oklahoma state laws for the city’s 670,000 citizens. Judge Frizzell concluded that the arguments presented for the preliminary injunction failed to prove harm to MCN. It also concluded that the Nation would not win a full trial based on the merits of its argument.
Governor Kevin Stitt expressed his satisfaction regarding the District Court’s decision to deny the injunction. According to a public statement released on Nov. 7, Governor Stitt believes the decision was the right one for Oklahomans. The statement reads:
Judge Frizzell’s ruling is common sense, and confirms what I’ve said all along. His decision to recognize the authority of district attorneys to pursue justice in every county preserves the rule of law and protects victims in our state. Our DA’s have worked diligently to keep our communities safe, even as some in our state questioned their authority to do so. Our nation was founded on the idea that laws should be applied equally regardless of race. This decision confirms that. How many more courts have to say the same thing before Oklahoma’s chief law officer engages on the State’s side of these issues? These rulings are not close calls. They are consistent, unanimous affirmation that district attorneys have authority to prosecute crime in their own counties.
In response to the dismissal of the preliminary injunction, the Nation said it will continue to fight to exclusively prosecute Tribal citizens who commit crimes on the Mvskoke Reservation, regardless if they are Mvskoke. The Nation’s statement reads:
The Muscogee Nation is disappointed that the federal court did not agree with the preliminary injunction request against DA Kunzweiler, but the case is not over. The fight against unlawful state authority over Indians in the Muscogee Reservation will continue, and we are not going to allow today’s unfortunate ruling to discourage the Nation’s ongoing efforts to defend its sovereignty on its territory.
