18 U.S.C. § 1152 Archives

F-2019-854

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 23, 2021
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2019-854, Joshua Lee Purdom appealed his conviction for several serious crimes, including assault and battery, kidnapping, and rape. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse his convictions and remand the case with instructions to dismiss it. One judge dissented. Joshua Lee Purdom was found guilty by a jury of multiple crimes and received a lengthy sentence in the District Court of Hughes County. The court took into account that Purdom committed these crimes against a victim who had Indian heritage and that the crimes occurred on land considered part of an Indian Reservation. This brought up a question about whether the state had the right to convict him. Purdom argued that because the victim was an enrolled member of an Indian tribe and the crimes happened on Indian land, the state did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him; instead, this should be handled by federal courts. The case brought attention to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that said parts of Oklahoma were still considered Indian Country for legal purposes. The OCCA agreed with Purdom and found that based on the facts established in a hearing, the state did not have the authority to prosecute him. The victim’s status as an Indian and the location of the crimes played a crucial role in the decision. Therefore, the court dismissed the case, emphasizing that only federal courts have jurisdiction over crimes against Indians in Indian Country under federal law. In summary, the court reversed Purdom’s convictions and ordered the case to be dismissed, which means he will not face charges from this case.

F-2018-1268

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 26, 2021
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2018-1268, Stewart Wayne Coffman appealed his conviction for First Degree Manslaughter. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand the case with instructions to dismiss it. One judge dissented. Coffman was found guilty of First Degree Manslaughter, and the judge sentenced him to forty years in prison. He appealed his conviction, claiming that the court did not have the right to try him because the victim, Joe Battiest, Jr., was a member of the Choctaw Nation and the crime took place in Indian Country. The case was affected by a past ruling, McGirt v. Oklahoma, which stated that crimes on certain Native American lands fall under federal jurisdiction. The appellate court ordered a hearing to investigate Coffman's claims about the victim’s status and the crime's location. During this hearing, experts confirmed that Battiest had a majority of Indian blood and was recognized by the Choctaw Nation. The crime took place at a specific address that was within the historical boundaries of the Choctaw Nation. The district court found no evidence that Congress had ever removed those boundaries. After reviewing the evidence, the court decided that Coffman's case should be dismissed because Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute him, in line with the earlier McGirt decision. Therefore, the court reversed the judgments and sentences of the lower court, ordering the case dismissed.

F-2020-125

Post author:Staff
Post published:June 17, 2021
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2020-125, Justin Dale Little appealed his conviction for First Degree Murder. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that Little's conviction should be vacated because the State of Oklahoma did not have the jurisdiction to prosecute him due to his status as an Indian and the location of the crime within Indian country. The ruling was influenced by the prior case McGirt v. Oklahoma, which established that certain lands are still considered Indian reservations under federal law. The court found that since Little is recognized as an Indian and the crime occurred within the boundaries of the Muscogee Reservation, only the federal government has the authority to prosecute him. There was a dissenting opinion expressing concerns about the implications of the decision and how it followed previous legal precedents.