When an attorney for the state of Oklahoma stands before the U.S. Supreme Court and tells justices that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation no longer has a reservation in eastern Oklahoma — and hasn't for more than a century — she likely will have in her corner U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco.

And when a federal public defender stands before that same court and argues the Muscogee (Creek) Nation does, in fact, have a reservation in eastern Oklahoma — and has since 1866 — in her corner likely will be an attorney for the tribe.

Francisco, the third-ranking attorney in the Justice Department, asked the high court last week to grant him 10 minutes to speak during oral arguments in Carpenter v. Murphy. The court has not yet ruled on the matter but likely will approve Francisco's request.

It also has not ruled on a similar request from Riyaz Kanji, a Michigan attorney representing the Creeks. If both motions are approved, oral arguments in the Murphy case will be bifurcated, with four attorneys representing three governments sharing a podium on the biggest legal stage in the nation.