Gorsuch joins Supreme Court liberals with a powerful decision upholding tribal land rights

Kathryn Krawczyk's avatar
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Neil Gorsuch.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the court's liberals — and delivered a powerful decision — in a case over whether Native Americans can be prosecuted by states.

The court ruled 5-4 Wednesday in favor of the Creek Nation against the state of Oklahoma, saying they and other Native Americans cannot be tried in a state court for "major crimes committed in Indian country." Gorsuch wrote the court's majority opinion, channeling the history of how the Creek Nation was forced along the Trail of Tears to their current tribal lands and declaring that land was set to be "secure forever." Kathryn Krawczyk

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Kathryn Krawczyk
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.