This session will describe federal Indian law and criminal jurisdiction in Indian country. Students will also learn about significant changes to the criminal jurisdictional analysis in Oklahoma after the United State Supreme Court’s decision in the McGirt case. The session will address the impact this decision has had on current caseloads, previous convictions, and crime victims. A short summary of current legal challenges and battles in Oklahoma will also be covered.

1. Participants will learn about federal Indian law and the analysis used to determine which criminal justice agencies have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crime in Indian country.
2. Participants will gain an understanding of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma and what it means for crime victims in Oklahoma.
3. Participants will learn about how the McGirt decision has impacted caseloads for federal and tribal prosecutors in Oklahoma.

Leslie A. Hagen, National Indian Country Training Coordinator, U.S. Department of Justice
Leslie A. Hagen serves as the Department of Justice’s first National Indian Country Training Coordinator. In this position, she is responsible for planning, developing and coordinating training in a broad range of matters relating to the administration of justice in Indian Country. Previously, Hagen served as the Native American Issues Coordinator for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. In that capacity, she served as EOUSA’s principal legal advisor on all matters pertaining to American Indian and Alaska Native issues.

Hagen started with the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Western District of Michigan. She was assigned to Violent Crime in Indian Country handling federal prosecutions and training on issues of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse affecting the eleven federally recognized tribes in the Western District of Michigan.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice, she served as the staff attorney with the Civil Legal Justice Project for the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and as a specialist in Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice. From 1997-2001, Ms. Hagen served as the Violence Against Women Training Attorney for the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Ms. Hagen was the elected Prosecuting Attorney for Huron County, Michigan for two terms, an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Midland County, Michigan and a Prehearing Division Attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals. Ms. Hagen has worked on criminal justice issues related to child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault for over 30 years.

Throughout her career, Ms. Hagen has received several honors, including the 2013 and 2010 Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service in Indian Country and Directors Award from the Executive Office of United States Attorneys in 2020 and 2004. Ms. Hagen is a graduate of Alma College and Valparaiso School of Law.