Staff Writer
On September 8, 2011 the U.S. District Court of the Eastern district of Oklahoma ordered the Muscogee Nation\’s District Court to dismiss cases against 10 former Duck Creek Indian Community employees that were charged with theft-related crimes. According to court documents, \”The tribal court is directed to dismiss the pending indictment against the petitioners and to dissolve their release bond.\”
The case titled Jeff Fife et al. v. Patrick Moore et al., involved ten of the eleven former Duck Creek employees that were charged with theft related crimes by Muscogee Nation Special Prosecutor Rod Weimer around October 29, 2010. U.S. District Judge Ronald White determined that the Muscogee Nation\’s prosecution did not have jurisdiction over this issue because the location of alleged crimes occurred on land that was under the State of Oklahoma\’s jurisdiction at the time.
The case is still pending an appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. Judge White stated that, \”The portion of this order directing that the indictment be dismissed is hereby stayed pending resolution of the federal appellate process.\” Until the Court of Appeals hands down their decision, the U.S. District Court\’s order is still not final.