State v. Beasley

199 P.3d 771, 146 Idaho 594, 2008 Ida. App. LEXIS 152
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 23, 2008
Docket34698
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 199 P.3d 771 (State v. Beasley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Beasley, 199 P.3d 771, 146 Idaho 594, 2008 Ida. App. LEXIS 152 (Idaho Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge.

Jake Beasley appeals from his judgment of conviction for felony driving under the influence (DUI). Specifically, he appeals the denial of his motion to dismiss or in the alternative to suppress evidence. We affirm.

I.

BACKGROUND

At approximately 10:30 at night in February, 2007, Idaho State Police dispatch received several calls from concerned citizens reporting a white passenger car driving north-bound on the south-bound side of Interstate 15 in Bannock County. Trooper Mike Winans was dispatched towards the last known location of the vehicle. However, before he located the vehicle, officers from the Fort Hall Police Department intercepted and stopped the car on Interstate 15 within the boundaries of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. The driver of the car, Beasley, was taken from the car and placed in handcuffs.

When Trooper Winans arrived at the scene of the stop, he noted that Beasley reeked of alcohol, had urinated in his pants and had fresh vomit on him. Beasley’s speech was slurred, and he kept repeating that he didn’t know what he had done wrong. Trooper Winans and the Fort Hall police officers held *596 a brief discussion about who should take Beasley, after which the tribal handcuffs were removed and Trooper Winans arrested Beasley.

Beasley was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, a repeated offense, I.C. §§ 18-8004 and 18-8005(7), a felony. He was also alleged to be a persistent violator, I.C. § 19-2514. Prior to trial, Beasley moved for dismissal of the charges, or in the alternative to suppress all evidence obtained from his alleged illegal arrest. Beasley and the prosecutor provided the court with stipulated facts and exhibits for purposes of the motions. Those facts included that Beasley is a certified member of the Shoshone-Bannoek tribes, and resides on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Accordingly, Beasley asserted that he was illegally arrested by Trooper Winans because his initial arrest occurred on the reservation, by tribal police officers. Since Trooper Win-ans assumed custody of Beasley without initiating extradition proceedings in tribal court, Beasley asserted that the arrest by Trooper Winans violated his Fourth Amendment rights and interfered with the sovereignty of the Shoshone-Bannoek tribes.

The district court denied Beasley’s motions. He thereafter entered a guilty plea to the felony DUI, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motions, and the state dismissed the persistent violator allegation. This appeal followed.

II.

DISCUSSION

Beasley moved to dismiss the charges against him pursuant to Idaho Criminal Rule 12(b), asserting a lack of personal jurisdiction in the district court of Bannock County. Personal jurisdiction refers to a court’s power to bring a person into its adjudicative process whereas subject matter jurisdiction refers to jurisdiction over the nature of the case and the type of relief sought. State v. Ambro, 142 Idaho 77, 79, 123 P.3d 710, 712 (Ct.App.2005) (citing Black’s Law Dictionary 870 (8th ed.2004)). Thus, without personal jurisdiction, the court has no person to hold accountable and, without subject matter jurisdiction, the court has no alleged crime to hold the person responsible for. Id. at 79-80, 123 P.3d at 712-13. Beasley did not challenge the district court’s authority to hear a criminal DUI case, but only the court’s authority over his person due to the failure to follow tribal extradition procedures. We exercise independent review over the issue of a lower court’s jurisdiction. State v. Crisman, 123 Idaho 277, 279, 846 P.2d 928, 930 (Ct.App.1992); see also In re Hanson, 121 Idaho 507, 826 P.2d 468 (1992).

Criminal jurisdiction over Indians is divided among federal, state, and tribal governments. State v. Mathews, 133 Idaho 300, 310, 986 P.2d 323, 333 (1999). Whether one or more of these sovereigns possess criminal jurisdiction in a particular instance depends upon the type of offense committed, where the offense was committed, and whether either the perpetrator or the victim is Indian. Id. Although criminal matters within the boundaries of an Indian reservation are generally within the exclusive jurisdiction of the tribal courts, Congress has the power to define the nature of federal, state, and tribal criminal jurisdiction within Indian Country. Id. at 311, 986 P.2d at 334. In 1953, the United States Congress enacted Public Law 280, which permitted states to assume jurisdiction over Indian affairs by affirmative legislative action. See Public Law No. 280, § 7, 67 Stat. 588 (1953). In 1963, pursuant to Public Law 280, the State of Idaho enacted I.C. § 67-5101 which states:

The state of Idaho, in accordance with [Public Law 280] hereby assumes and accepts jurisdiction for the civil and criminal enforcement of state laws and regulations concerning the following matters and purposes arising in Indian country located within this state, as Indian country is defined by title 18, United States Code 1151, and obligates and binds this state to the assumption thereof:
A. Compulsory school attendance
B. Juvenile delinquency and youth rehabilitation
C. Dependent, neglected and abused children
D. Insanities and mental illness
*597 E. Public assistance
F. Domestic relations
G. Operation and management of motor vehicles upon highways and roads maintained by the county or state, or political subdivisions thereof

(Emphasis added). Public Law 280 was later repealed by the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and replaced by 25 U.S.C. § 1321, which requires the prior consent of an Indian tribe to create additional state jurisdiction. Mathews, 133 Idaho at 311, 986 P.2d at 334. However, the limiting language of section 1321 does not limit Idaho’s jurisdiction to enforce its motor vehicle laws upon Indian reservations because that jurisdiction had been granted and assumed prior to enactment of section 1321. State v. McCormack, 117 Idaho 1009, 1013, 793 P.2d 682, 686 (1990). Therefore, the State of Idaho has authority to enforce the motor vehicle laws of this state in Indian Country pursuant to the consent provided in Public Law 280 and as implemented by the Idaho Legislature in I.C. § 67-5101. Id. at 1014, 793 P.2d at 687.

Beasley asserts that his arrest by Trooper Winans was illegal because extradition procedures were not followed, and therefore the district court had no jurisdiction over him. In support thereof, Beasley cites to Benally v. Marcum,

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Bluebook (online)
199 P.3d 771, 146 Idaho 594, 2008 Ida. App. LEXIS 152, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-beasley-idahoctapp-2008.