Background
Kalin Marie Campbell, an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, was convicted in federal court for conspiring to distribute controlled substances. During her sentencing, she objected to the calculation of her Criminal History Category, arguing that three prior state convictions were void because Oklahoma state courts lacked subject matter jurisdiction over offenses committed by tribal citizens in Indian country under the Supreme Court’s McGirt decision. The district court overruled the objection, noting the convictions had not been vacated, and sentenced Campbell to 188 months of imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that the Supreme Court’s decision in McGirt did not automatically vacate or void existing state convictions. Under established precedent, a conviction is not considered void until a court with review authority declares it so. The court further held that federal sentencing proceedings do not permit collateral attacks on prior state convictions, with the sole exception being convictions obtained in violation of the right to counsel. Because Campbell was represented by counsel in her prior state proceedings, she could not challenge the validity of those convictions in this federal sentencing hearing.
Because her state convictions were not obtained in violation of her right to counsel, she cannot challenge the validity of those convictions in federal court during a sentencing hearing for an unrelated federal offense.
United States v. Campbell, 24-5086 (10th Cir. May 5, 2026)
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces the finality of state court judgments in federal sentencing contexts and clarifies that jurisdictional arguments based on McGirt cannot be used to invalidate prior state convictions for the purpose of calculating a federal Criminal History Category unless the right to counsel was violated.
Podcast (federal-narrative-summaries): Play in new window | Download