/PRNewswire/ Oberheiden P.C., a federal compliance and defense firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, has announced the addition of Brian J. Kuester to its.
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In the past eight months, the U.S. attorney’s office has accepted 600 major felony cases for prosecution and sent 830 less-serious cases to tribal courts.
Some prosecutions are falling through the cracks because of statutes of limitation for some federal crimes a legal hurdle state prosecutors didn’t face.
“There is a small percentage of cases that cannot be prosecuted due to lack of/loss of evidence or due to the federal statute of limitations,” said a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in the Northern District of Oklahoma. “Our office continues to work closely with district attorneys and tribal attorneys general to ensure a seamless transfer of cases for prosecution.”
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When that happens, federal prosecutors will become responsible for retrying old state cases involving American Indians in all five reservations and trying new cases involving American Indians a huge increase in caseload for U.S. attorney offices.
Brian J. Kuester, who was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma until March, said the re-recognition of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation alone led to more than a 1,500% increase in Violent Crime in Indian Country matters referred to the U.S. attorney’s office in just seven months.
“We have worked closely with federal, state and tribal agencies to prepare for the exponential increase in criminal cases over which the federal government will have primary jurisdiction, Kuester said.