From Arrest to Release
Video Transcribed: What should you expect if you’re facing criminal charges in Tribal Court in Oklahoma? My name’s Ted Hasse. I’m a Muscogee Nation lawyer who practices in Federal and Tribal Courts handling criminal defense for my clients. I’m going to talk briefly here about what you can expect when you’re facing criminal charges or you’ve got a tribal hold or have somehow come into contact with the criminal justice system with one of the tribal nations.
This can happen with a number of tribal nations. This, of course, can be Cherokee Nation, Muskogee Creek Nation, Choctaw, or Chickasaw. I’m going to talk today about what it’s like with Muskogee Creek Nation just because we are seeing an awful lot of cases in Muskogee Creek Nation right now. It’s a vast area. The other area where we see a lot of defendants is in the Cherokee Nation, but let me talk about Muskogee Creek Nation briefly first.
You’re going to oftentimes come into contact with Muskogee Creek Nation tribal authorities through an arrest warrant. A lot of our defendants are ending up surprised there’s been an arrest warrant issued based on criminal complainant information given by a tribal nation. They get stopped and then they find out there is a warrant. They’ll usually be stopped not by light horse police, which are the law enforcement agencies for Muskogee Creek Nation, Cherokee Nation, and other tribal nations. They’ll get stopped by whatever law enforcement agency, anything from Oklahoma Highway Patrol to Tulsa PD to some county sheriff’s department, or sheriff’s deputy.
There’ll be a search of a database that will turn up the fact that they are wanted on a warrant. They’ll be brought in on the warrant. The defendant will be brought into a county jail, and then certainly with Muskogee Creek Nation, the big challenge that we see for defendants is sometimes it can take some time before they get a bond set. So while it’s the case that most of the time on something that you might be picked up on or likely to be picked up on, it depends if there’s a warrant already issued, but say you get stopped at a traffic stop and it’s a DUI, or you get picked up by local law enforcement in response to a call. In a lot of these types of cases, defendants who are facing state charges, they’re going to be able to get out on bond very quickly and sometimes there’s going to be a delay with tribal charges.
If you’re facing charges or you have a loved one who has been picked up on a tribal warrant or is facing charges and you want to know more about what to expect and what can be done, feel free to reach out to me at muscogee.tribalcourtattorney.com. Happy to talk to you and help you figure out the best path forward to get the best result possible. Again, my name is Ted Hasse and I am an Oklahoma tribal court lawyer.
Leave a Reply