State v. Cooper

928 P.2d 406
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 19, 1996
Docket64016-5
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 928 P.2d 406 (State v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cooper, 928 P.2d 406 (Wash. 1996).

Opinion

928 P.2d 406 (1996)
130 Wash.2d 770

The STATE of Washington, Petitioner,
v.
Kim E. COOPER, Respondent.

No. 64016-5.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued September 24, 1996.
Decided December 19, 1996.

David S. McEachran, Whatcom County Prosecutor, Laura D. Hayes, Deputy, Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office, Bellingham, for Petitioner.

Darby N. Ducomb, David L. Donnan, Washington Appellate Project, Seattle, for Respondent.

Christine Gregoire, Attorney General, Robert K. Costello, Assistant Attorney General, Olympia, Katrina C. Pflaumer, U.S. Attorney, Susan M. Roe, Asst. U.S. Attorney, Seattle, for amici curiae.

DURHAM, Chief Justice.

The State seeks review of a Court of Appeals decision reversing Kim Cooper's conviction for child molestation. The State contends the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the State lacks jurisdiction over crimes committed by Indians on Indian lands *407 outside the boundaries of an established Indian reservation. We agree, and reverse.

BACKGROUND

Cooper's crime was committed on property held in trust by the United States as an Indian allotment outside the boundaries of the Nooksack Reservation. State v. Cooper, 81 Wash.App. 36, 38, 41 n. 6, 912 P.2d 1075, review granted, 129 Wash.2d 1013, 917 P.2d 576 (1996).[1] The State no longer disputes Cooper's factual assertions that (1) the crime was committed on trust property, and (2) Cooper and the victim are both members of the Nooksack Tribe.[2] It is also undisputed that the trust property is "Indian country" for purposes of federal jurisdiction.[3]

Public Law 280

Prior to federal legislation permitting the assumption of state jurisdiction, criminal offenses by Indians in Indian country were subject to only federal or tribal jurisdiction. See Washington v. Confederated Bands & Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation, 439 U.S. 463, 470, 99 S.Ct. 740, 746, 58 L.Ed.2d 740 (1979). In 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 280 permitting the states to assume jurisdiction over Indian country. Pub.L. No. 280, 67 Stat. 588 (codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. sec. 1162; 25 U.S.C. secs. 1321-1326; 28 U.S.C. sec. 1360) (1953). Public Law 280 gave five states criminal jurisdiction over all Indian country with the exception of three reservations. Public Law 280 gave the remaining states, including Washington, the consent of the United States to assume jurisdiction over Indian country by statute and/or amendment of their state constitutions. Confederated Bands & Tribes, 439 U.S. at 471-74, 99 S.Ct. at 746-48; In re Estate of Cross, 126 Wash.2d 43, 47, 891 P.2d 26 (1995).

Amended RCW 37.12.010 (1963)

In 1963, the Legislature amended RCW ch. 37.12, thereby asserting nonconsensual civil and criminal jurisdiction over all Indian country with certain exceptions.

The State of Washington hereby obligates and binds itself to assume criminal and civil jurisdiction over Indians and Indian territory, reservations, country, and lands within this state in accordance with [Public Law 280], but such assumption of jurisdiction shall not apply to Indians when on their tribal lands or allotted lands within an established Indian reservation and held in trust by the United States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States, unless the provisions of RCW 37.12.021 have been invoked, except for the following:
(1) Compulsory school attendance;
(2) Public assistance;
(3) Domestic relations;
(4) Mental illness;
(5) Juvenile delinquency;
(6) Adoption proceedings;
(7) Dependent children; and

*408 (8) Operation of motor vehicles upon the public streets, alleys, roads and highways....

RCW 37.12.010 (emphasis added). The effect of this statute was to assume jurisdiction over all Indian country for purposes of the eight enumerated categories of law. Confederated Bands & Tribes, 439 U.S. at 475, 99 S.Ct. at 748; Estate of Cross, 126 Wash.2d at 48, 891 P.2d 26. Criminal jurisdiction was not one of the eight categories of law in which the State assumed jurisdiction over all Indian country. Whether the State assumed criminal jurisdiction over a particular piece of Indian country depends on whether the property constitutes "tribal lands or allotted lands within an established Indian reservation." RCW 37.12.010 (emphasis added).[4] RCW 37.12.021, enacted in the same legislation as RCW 37.12.010, authorized further assumptions of state jurisdiction pursuant to tribal consent.

The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968

The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (hereafter 1968 ICRA), 25 U.S.C. secs. 1321-1323, required tribal consent for all future assumptions of state jurisdiction over Indian country. The 1968 ICRA did not make the consent requirement retroactive and did not invalidate prior assumptions of state jurisdiction under Public Law 280. Estate of Cross, 126 Wash.2d at 47, 891 P.2d 26 (citing Three Affiliated Tribes v. Wold Eng'g, P.C., 467 U.S. 138, 150-51, 104 S.Ct. 2267, 2275-76, 81 L.Ed.2d 113 (1984)).

The Nooksack Reservation

The Nooksack Reservation was established in 1973.[5] The Nooksack Tribe has not consented to the assumption of state jurisdiction. Cooper, 81 Wash.App. at 39, 912 P.2d 1075.

ANALYSIS

The question of state jurisdiction depends first on whether the State initially assumed jurisdiction over the trust property pursuant to RCW 37.12.010. If it did, the question then becomes whether the subsequent establishment of the Nooksack Reservation vitiates that assumption of jurisdiction. We consider each issue separately.

A. Pursuant to RCW 37.12.010, Washington assumed jurisdiction over all Indian lands outside established reservations, including the trust property at issue here.

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Bluebook (online)
928 P.2d 406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cooper-wash-1996.