Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-429_8o6a.pdf
Page Number: 65.0

Cite as:  597 U. S. ____ (2022) 

37 

GORSUCH, J., dissenting 

Appropriations  Act,  H. R.  2471,  117th  Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  78
(2022).  Meanwhile,  the  Solicitor  General  has  offered  the 
Executive  Branch’s  judgment  that  McGirt’s  “practical
consequences”  do  not  justify  this  Court’s  intervention, 
explaining  that  the  Department  of  Justice  is  “working
diligently with tribal and State partners” in Oklahoma.  See 
Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 32. 

isn’t 

A  Federal  Bureau 

in  Oklahoma,  “the  sky 

There is even more evidence cutting against the Court’s
dystopian  tale.  According  to  a  recent  United  States
falling”  and 
Attorney 
“partnerships  between  tribal  law  enforcement  and  state
law  enforcement”  are  strong.  A. Herrera,  Trent  Shores 
Reflects  on  His  Time  as  U. S.  Attorney,  Remains 
Committed to Justice for Indian Country, KOSU-NPR (Feb. 
24,  2021),  www.kosu.org/politics/2021-02-24/trent-shores-
reflects-on-his-time-as-u-s-attorney-remains-committed-to-
of 
justice-for-indian-country. 
Investigation  special  agent  in  charge  of  Oklahoma  has 
stated that violent crimes “ ‘are being pursued as heavily as
they  were  in  the  past,  and  in  some  cases,  maybe  even
stronger.’ ”  A. Brothers, Oklahoma Special Agent Says FBI 
Faces  Challenges  in  3  Categories,  News  on  6  (Feb.  14,
2022), https://www.newson6.com/story/620b261bf8cd4a07e
5cb845b/oklahoma-special-agent-says-fbi-faces-challenges-
in-3-categories.  And the Tribes—those most affected by all 
this  supposed  lawlessness  within  their  reservations—tell
us  that,  after  a  period  of  adjustment,  federal  prosecutors
are now pursuing lower level offenses vigorously too.  See 
Brief for Muscogee (Creek) Nation as Amicus Curiae on Pet. 
for Cert. 11–12, and nn. 21–22 (collecting indictments).  The 
federal  government  has  made  a  similar  representation  to
this Court.  Tr. of Oral Arg. 118.  Nor is it any secret that 
those  convicted  of  federal  crimes  generally  receive  longer 
sentences  than  individuals  convicted  of  similar  state 
offenses.  See,  e.g.,  Bureau  of  Justice  Statistics,  Felony
Sentences  in  State  Courts,  2006—Statistical  Tables  9