Opinion ID: 170350
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Language of the Cession Act

Text: Oklahoma consented to federal acquisition of its land for the creation and expansion of national forests in 1925, through legislation that also specified both the territorial jurisdiction retained by the State and the territorial jurisdiction ceded to the federal government: That the consent of the State of Oklahoma be and is hereby given to the acquisition by the United States . . . of such lands in Oklahoma, as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment, consolidation and extension of National Forests in the State; provided, that the State of Oklahoma shall retain a concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over the lands so acquired, so far that civil process in all cases, and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State of Oklahoma against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction, may be executed thereon in like manner as if this Act had not been passed. Power is hereby conferred upon Congress of the United States to pass such laws and to make or provide for the making of such rules and regulations of both a civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment therefor, as in its judgment may be necessary for the administration, control and protection of such lands as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act. Act effective April 8, 1925 (Cession Act), ch. 42, §§ 1-2, 1925 Okla. Sess. Laws 61-62 (current version at Okla. State. tit. 80, §§ 6, 7) (emphasis added). The first section of the Cession Act indicates that the United States is being ceded full civil and criminal jurisdiction, with a concurrent jurisdiction reserved to the State. Fields argues, however, that the specific reference in the second section to the conferral of power on Congtess necessary for the administration, control, and protection of [the] lands, suggests that the ceded federal jurisdiction has a narrower range, relating only to the government's proprietary interests in the land, and thus is insufficient to support the imposition and enforcement of the criminal law under which he was prosecuted. As explained below, the only pertinent Oklahoma case construing the Cession Act supports the government's position that the Act cedes to the United States traditional concurrent jurisdiction. Fields' reading of the second section of the Act as imposing an enforceable substantive restriction on Congress's power, such that any legislation regarding national forest lands may be challenged for alleged deviation from the purposes of administration, control, and protection, ignores the modifying phrase  as in [Congress's] judgment may be necessary for [such purposes].