From Supreme Court to Tenth Circuit, McGirt Wins Again

In McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the 1997 conviction of Jimcy McGirt for sexual abuse on the grounds that, as an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation on Native American lands, McGirt's crime could only be tried in tribal or federal court, not state court. Federal prosecutors immediately indicted McGirt and he was again convicted of sexual abuse based on the same allegations. Tenth Circuit: Wait, the trial court screwed up the jury instructions, allowing them to consider prior inconsistent witness statements only for impeachment and not as substantive evidence. Conviction vacated. New trial.

The case is United States v. McGirt, No. 21-7048 (10th Cir. June, 20, 2023).