Date: 03-16-2023

Case Style:

State of Oklahoma v. Shawn Lee McDaniel

Case Number: CF-2015-249

Judge: Bret Smith

Court: District Court, Muskogee County, Oklahoma

Plaintiff's Attorney: Muskogee County District Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Muskogee, Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with first-degree murder.

Shawn Lee McDaniel, age 61, was charged with murder in 2014 for shooting and killing Billy Fools. McDaniel was allegedly dressed in leafy camouflage clothing. The State claimed that McDaniel was upset because he girlfriend at at Fools' resident using drug and that she was being used by Fools.

McDaniel was convicted and sentence to life in prison.

When the McGirt case was decided, McDaniel filed a post conviction relief petition claiming that the district court lack jurisdiction to try and convict him because he is Native American.

Outcome: The conviction was affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals based on the holding in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, which held:

"In accord with that overarching jurisdictional principle
dating back to the 1800s, States have jurisdiction to prose-
cute crimes committed in Indian country unless preempted.
In the leading case in the criminal context—the McBratney
case from 1882—this Court held that States have jurisdic-
tion to prosecute crimes committed by non-Indians against
non-Indians in Indian country. United States v. McBratney,
104 U. S. 621, 623–624 (1882). The Court stated that Colo-
rado had “criminal jurisdiction” over crimes by non-Indians
against non-Indians “throughout the whole of the territory
within its limits, including the Ute Reservation.” Id., at
624. Several years later, the Court similarly decided that
Montana had criminal jurisdiction over crimes by non-Indi-
ans against non-Indians in Indian country within that
State. Draper v. United States, 164 U. S. 240, 244–247
(1896). The McBratney principle remains good law.
In short, the Court’s precedents establish that Indian
country is part of a State’s territory and that, unless
preempted, States have jurisdiction over crimes committed
in Indian country."

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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