3 ms·
The genesis of this case (it started with Murphy) is an amazing and wonderful story. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/us/05bar.html https://www.nytimes.com/20
by heatm 6y ago
The genesis of this case (it started with Murphy) is an amazing and wonderful story.
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/us/05bar.html https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/us/05bar.html
... and for more depth, check this excellent podcast series:
https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/
Full disclosure -- I knew and worked with the attorney who discovered the original issue.
She was also a geologist, so she checked on the mineral rights to see if she could develop a jurisdiction claim.
- toyg 6y ago> It started with Murphy What do you mean? Murphy is reported as a murder, whereas McGirt is a rape. Do you mean that McGirt's defense adopted the strategy Murphy introduced...?
- heatm 6y agoSorry if I wasn't clear, the initial jurisdiction (state vs federal) issue started with Murphy, a murder case. When the Murphy jurisdiction issue began to achieve significant legal traction, McGirt adopted the same strategy. The SCOTUS reviewed the Murphy case with only 8 Justices, didn't issue a decision (they probably voted 4:4 in conference), and used the McGirt case (with 9 Justices) to decide the jurisdiction issue. The links in my comment provide a lot more info, it's a remarkable narrative. If the initial Murphy attorney had not first been a geologist (and then a mineral rights litigator) the whole situation probably would never have surfaced.