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The Supreme Court ruling of McGirt v. Oklahoma has impacted a Bartlesville family. In 2015, Samantha Perales was driving with meth in her system and was found guilty of manslaughter. She had been sentenced to life for killing Amberly Bradley. 

Based on the Supreme Court ruling, a judge reversed the jury’s decision because of the tribal jurisdiction regulations dealing with McGirt v. Oklahoma. Perales crossed the centerline on Highway 59 north of Kansas, Oklahoma, slamming into the vehicle head-on.

The Cherokee Nation is the only jurisdiction in which to prosecute the case moving forward. The Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation says the case will now go to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.