Company Says SCOTUS Tribal Jurisdiction Ruling Affects Running Background Checks

A company based out of Broken Arrow that does background checks said it’s running into roadblocks because of the US Supreme Court's ruling on tribal jurisdiction.

They said it’s tough checking tribal court records since their records are often outdated and incomplete. Investigative Concepts (IC Labs) said it used to be simple.

“You could run what they call a national criminal database and then you could go directly to the counties where that applicant has resided. You know, you have your municipal, you have your state level charges, and then you have your federal charges, so you have to check all the courts. Now we have the tribal courts involved,” said Scott Good, owner of IC Labs.

IC Labs represents hundreds of companies in Oklahoma and is responsible for updating records.

The owner said they take the investigative approach and dig where others don’t, but that has become increasingly difficult over the past couple of years.

“Some of the charges we’re seeing, they’re not just, you know, minor stuff. Some are violent crimes that are being vacated, or violent crimes, I mean, we’ve heard on the news. You know, child predators. Stuff like that recently that were part of McGirt so they can’t file it. Well try to go find that on the federal charge as a company trying to dig that information up for an employer. It’s not the easiest thing to do,” said Good.

Scott Good owns IC Labs and said he must contact tribal courts repeatedly to get the information they need.

He said the SCOTUS ruling has led to limited access and has changed the way they search for records.

“If we identify a possible record, for example one that’s been vacated, you can kind of tell which tribe it should be filed under based on which county the charge was vacated from. Like Tulsa County is more likely gonna be Cherokee. So, we have contact numbers, email addresses, whatever, we consent to. The problem is they don’t always get answered immediately. I’m sure they’re overwhelmed too with the changes, but we’re at their beck and call. So, it’s a matter of multiple phone calls, multiple emails, following up. We put them in our que and follow up until we get an answer,” said Good.

Good said oftentimes, the responses are very brief.

“We send a records request email which is how they instructed us to do it and we simply get an answer back, ‘No records.’ We don’t know what happened to those. He had 6 charges. He had 6 different violations of protective orders. Why weren’t they refiled? We just don’t know,” said Good. “We’re seeing that result of missed records. Stuff that we can’t report because we can’t… you know, we knew that he had a shooting with intent to kill but it was vacated. We’re having difficulties finding out if it’s been refiled. And if it is, what’s the status of that?”

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Assistant Chief Brian Thomas Palmer made this statement: "The Tribal court systems impacted by the McGirt ruling continue to adapt administratively, this includes steps to develop an accessible online resource tool like OSCN or ODCR1. Until this is developed, background check companies will have to continue contacting the applicants’ respective Tribal court to obtain the information." 

The Cherokee Nation, District Court Judge Luke Barteaux made this statement: "The Cherokee Nation District Court Clerk’s office has always provided background checks for employment purposes when requested. Also, our tribe’s online court records similar to the OSCN is up and running for public use. We continue to work toward making it easier for the public to navigate court records and be able to file and make payments online."

Good said the Choctaw Nation has an accessible website for verifying records.

“It’s not just the ones you identify, though. If you’re going to be doing a correct background check, you need to look for records like recent arrests. Stuff that’s pending. So, we have no access to go down there and look and say you know, ‘[H]ey, this person had a pending charge.’ I mean he could have a pending assault charge, drug trafficking charge, whatever and it’s a pending case. If I can’t see it and be able to report it back to these employers, it makes it a little bit harder for that employer to have a safe work environment,” said Good. “It’s an everyday thing. We see it every day.”

Good said there needs to be better communication and a more streamlined process. He said accuracy also depends on the strength of the system and if it’s updated in real time.

Good said the McGirt decision has impacted boarding states as well.

Click here for information on the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

News On 6 reached out to the Quapaw Nation and the Chickasaw Nation for a statement and haven't heard back.