State v. Begay

734 P.2d 278, 105 N.M. 498
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 17, 1987
Docket9434
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 734 P.2d 278 (State v. Begay) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico 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. Begay, 734 P.2d 278, 105 N.M. 498 (N.M. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

BIVINS, Judge.

This appeal raises two issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in dismissing Count 3 of the criminal information; and (2) whether the trial court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction to hear this case.

Defendant, a Navajo Indian, was involved in a head-on automobile collision that killed a woman, who was seven months pregnant, and another woman. The unborn child also died. The victims were Indians. The criminal information charged defendant with two counts of vehicular homicide (Counts 1 and 2), pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-101(A) (Cum. Supp.1986), and with injury to a pregnant woman (Count 3), pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-101.1 (Cum.Supp.1986). The victim of the crimes charged in Counts 2 and 3 was the same person.

Defendant moved the trial court to dismiss Count 3 of the criminal information, arguing that Counts 2 and 3 merged into one offense. The trial court granted defendant’s motion. The state, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 39-3-3(B)(l), appealed the trial court’s dismissal of Count 3. We granted the state’s request for an interlocutory appeal and issued a memorandum opinion reversing the trial court’s dismissal of Count 3 of the indictment and remanding with instructions to proceed to trial on the merits without merging the offenses.

Defendant also moved the trial court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. The parties stipulated that the site of the accident was within land purchased by the United States Government and held in trust for the Navajo Tribe, and that defendant is an enrolled member of that tribe. Defendant contended that the land where the accident occurred was Indian country under 18 U.S.C. Section 1151 (1982), and not within the jurisdiction of New Mexico state courts. The trial court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Defendant raised the issue of lack of jurisdiction in a separate application for leave to file an interlocutory appeal. We denied defendant leave to file an interlocutory appeal and advised defendant he could raise the issue upon the entry of a final judgment, should it become necessary. After we issued the memorandum opinion on the merger issue, defendant filed a motion for rehearing on the issue of jurisdiction. . Defendant argued in his motion for rehearing that we should resolve the jurisdictional matter now, prior to trial, in the interest of judicial economy so as to avoid an unnecessary trial should the trial court lack jurisdiction to hear the case. Upon that premise, we granted defendant’s motion and now address the jurisdictional question posed.

We withdraw the memorandum opinion filed September 11, 1986, and substitute this opinion. We remand the issue of jurisdiction to the trial court for additional fact-finding. If defendant presents sufficient facts to satisfy the jurisdictional requirements outlined in this opinion, the trial court must dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. Should defendant fail to present sufficient facts to establish lack of jurisdiction, the trial court should proceed to trial on the merits. So as to avoid a further appeal should the latter occur, we set forth our decision on the merger question.

JURISDICTION

A party can attack subject-matter jurisdiction at any time in the proceedings, even raising jurisdiction for the first time on appeal. Perea v. Baca, 94 N.M. 624, 614 P.2d 541 (1980); Chavez v. County of Valencia, 86 N.M. 205, 521 P.2d 1154 (1974). Demonstrating a lack of jurisdiction is defendant’s burden. State v. Cutnose, 87 N.M. 307, 532 P.2d 896 (Ct.App.1974).

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over certain crimes listed in 18 U.S.C. Section 1153 (Supp. II 1985) when these crimes are committed by an Indian in Indian country. State v. Ortiz, 105 N.M. 308, 731 P.2d 1352 (Ct.App.1986). Section 1151 defines Indian country as:

(a) all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States Government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and, including rights-of-way running through the reservation, (b) all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a state, and (c) all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same.

Lands held by the United States in trust for an Indian tribe and outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation, as is the situation here, are not specifically listed in this definition. We must determine if such lands are included in the definition of Indian country.

Neither party argues that the land in question qualifies as a reservation, dependent Indian community or allotment. The state contends that because lands held in trust are not included in the above definition, such lands are not Indian country. Defendant contends that the trial court lacks jurisdiction to try him in this matter because he is a Navajo Indian and the crime occurred in Indian country. Defendant’s brief, however, sidesteps the issue of why land held in trust and outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation should be considered Indian country. Defendant instead relies on State v. Begay, 63 N.M. 409, 320 P.2d 1017 (1958), rev’d on other grounds, State v. Warner, 71 N.M. 418, 379 P.2d 66 (1963), and argues that the holding in Begay is dispositive. In Begay, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that the district courts of this state lacked jurisdiction to try the defendant, a Navajo Indian, where the offense took place on a state highway right-of-way running through the Navajo Reservation.

We agree with defendant that the facts in Begay resemble the facts in our case. We disagree, however, that Begay is dis-positive. Begay dealt with jurisdiction where charges arose within the boundaries of the reservation proper, not on trust land outside of reservation boundaries. We must look further to determine the status of the land in question here.

Ortiz, while helpful generally, does not address the precise issue before us. Rather, Ortiz decides that for purposes of Section 1153, land within the exterior boundaries of an Indian pueblo is Indian country, the same as land within the exterior boundaries of an Indian reservation. Thus, we distinguish Ortiz on that basis.

The status of trust lands located outside reservation boundaries is uncertain. F. Cohen, Handbook of Federal Indian Law, ch. 1, § D5 at 45 (1982 ed.) Several cases have discussed the status of land held in trust for Indian tribes.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
734 P.2d 278, 105 N.M. 498, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-begay-nmctapp-1987.