State v. Ambro

• Citation: 142 Idaho 77,123 P.3d 710
• Decision Date: 28 October 2005
• Docket Number: No. 31181.,31181.
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Elena M. AMBRO, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho

Page 710

123 P.3d 710

142 Idaho 77

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Elena M. AMBRO, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 31181.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

October 28, 2005.

John Michael Adams, Kootenai County Public Defender; Daniel G. Cooper, Deputy Public Defender, Coeur d'Alene for appellant. Daniel G. Cooper argued.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Marty M. Raap, Special Deputy Attorney General, Coeur d'Alene, for respondent. Marty M. Raap argued.

PERRY, Chief Judge.

Elena M. Ambro appeals from her judgment of conviction, entered following her conditional plea of guilty to possession of a controlled substance, reserving the right to appeal the district court's order denying her motion to dismiss and her motion for reconsideration. For the reasons set forth below, we vacate Ambro's judgment of conviction.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Ambro, an enrolled citizen of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, was driving her vehicle within the boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation on a highway maintained by the state. A tribal officer stopped Ambro for an alleged traffic infraction. A county sheriff's officer then arrived and arrested Ambro on an outstanding bench warrant for an unrelated case. While searching Ambro incident to her arrest, the officer discovered methamphetamine. Following Ambro's arrest, the tribal and county officers obtained a search warrant, searched Ambro's home located on the reservation, and found paraphernalia and marijuana. Ambro was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, I.C. § 37-2732(a); possession of marijuana I.C. § 37-2732(c); and possession of drug paraphernalia, I.C. § 37-2734A.

Ambro filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the state lacked jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed by an Indian on an Indian reservation and that prosecution must lie with the federal or tribal court. In response, the state filed, at the time of the hearing on Ambro's motion, an amended information which dismissed the original charges and charged Ambro with possession of methamphetamine. I.C. § 37-2732(c). The state asserted at the hearing that it intended to produce evidence demonstrating that Ambro possessed methamphetamine at the time of her arrest on a state highway and would not rely on any evidence secured during the search of Ambro's house. The district court concluded that, because the state had subject matter jurisdiction to prosecute crimes concerning the operation and management of motor vehicles on state highways, it had jurisdiction to prosecute Ambro for possession of a controlled substance that she possessed while in a motor vehicle on a state highway. Accordingly, the district court denied Ambro's motion to dismiss. Ambro filed a motion for reconsideration, which the district court also denied. Ambro then pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance, reserving her right to appeal the district court's denial of her motion to dismiss and her motion for reconsideration. This appeal followed.

II. ANALYSIS

The state has no power on tribal lands absent a grant of authority from Congress. State v. Barros, 131 Idaho 379, 381, 957 P.2d 1095, 1097 (1998). Rather, Indians have the right to make their own laws and be ruled by them. Nevada v. Hicks, 533 U.S. 353, 361, 121 S.Ct. 2304, 2311, 150 L.Ed.2d 398, 408-09 (2001). Tribal sovereignty is dependent on, and subordinate to, only the federal government, not the states. California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 480 U.S. 202, 207, 107 S.Ct. 1083, 1087, 94 L.Ed.2d 244, 253-54 (1987). Although criminal matters within the exterior 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.¹ State v. Mathews, 133 Idaho 300, 311, 986 P.2d 323, 334 (1999). Issues about the district court's jurisdiction are issues of law, over which we exercise free review. State v. Rogers, 140 Idaho 223, 227, 91 P.3d 1127, 1131 (2004).

Initially, we address the state's contention that we need not consider whether the state lacked subject matter jurisdiction over possession of a controlled substance because it acquired personal jurisdiction over Ambro by lawfully taking her into custody on the outstanding bench warrant. The state asserts that once the officer arrested Ambro, she ceased being an Indian in Indian country and, therefore, could be prosecuted for possession regardless of whether the state had subject matter jurisdiction to enforce controlled substance violations committed by Indians on reservations. We are unpersuaded.

In order to properly proceed, the court must acquire both personal and subject matter jurisdiction in a criminal case. Rogers, 140 Idaho at 228, 91 P.3d at 1132. 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. 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. Rogers, 140 Idaho at 228, 91 P.3d at 1132.

Whether Ambro had sufficient contact with the state to allow it to assume personal jurisdiction over her is not at issue in this case. Instead, we address the state's authority to prosecute an Indian for possession of a controlled substance in Indian country, while in a motor vehicle on a state highway.

A. State Jurisdiction in Indian Country

In 1953, Congress enacted Public Law 280, which permitted states to assume jurisdiction over Indian affairs by affirmative legislative action. See Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakima Indian Nation, 439 U.S. 463, 471-74, 99 S.Ct. 740, 746-48, 58 L.Ed.2d 740, 750-52 (1979) (providing detailed discussion of Public Law 280 and reproducing its text). In 1963, the Idaho legislature responded to Congress's grant of authority by enacting I.C. § 67-5101. See 1963 Idaho Sess. Laws, ch. 58, § 1. To establish state jurisdiction concerning a crime arising in Indian country, the prosecution has the burden to show that the criminal laws, which the state is seeking to enforce, fall within those matters described in Section 67-5101. State v. Smith, 124 Idaho 671, 672, 862 P.2d 1093, 1094 (Ct.App.1993).

In pertinent part, Section 67-5101 provides:

The state of Idaho, in accordance with the provisions of . . . (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:

. . . .

G. Operation and management of motor vehicles upon highways and roads maintained by the county or state, or political subdivisions thereof.

The district court concluded this section provided the state with jurisdiction to prosecute Ambro for possession of a controlled substance because Ambro possessed the methamphetamine while driving a motor vehicle on a state maintained highway. Ambro argues that, because the offense she allegedly committed took place on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation and did not concern the operation or management of motor vehicles, the state had no authority to prosecute her.

This Court exercises free review over the application and construction of statutes. State v. Reyes, 139 Idaho 502, 505, 80 P.3d 1103, 1106 (Ct.App.2003). Where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, this Court must give effect to the statute as written, without engaging in statutory construction. State v. Rhode, 133 Idaho 459, 462, 988 P.2d 685, 688 (1999); State v. Burnight, 132 Idaho 654, 659, 978 P.2d 214, 219 (1999); State v. Escobar, 134 Idaho 387, 389, 3 P.3d 65, 67 (Ct.App.2000). The language of the statute is to be given its plain, obvious, and rational meaning. Burnight, 132 Idaho at 659, 978 P.2d at 219. If the language is clear and unambiguous, there is no occasion for the court to resort to legislative history or rules of statutory interpretation. Escobar, 134 Idaho at 389, 3 P.3d at 67. When this Court must engage in statutory construction, it has the duty to ascertain the legislative intent and give effect to that intent. Rhode, 133 Idaho at 462, 988 P.2d at 688. To ascertain the intent of the legislature, not only must the literal words of the statute be examined, but also the context of those words, the public policy behind the statute, and its legislative history. Id. It is incumbent upon a court to give a statute an interpretation, which will not render it a nullity. State v. Beard, 135 Idaho 641, 646, 22 P.3d 116, 121 (Ct.App.2001).

In construing the state's assumption of jurisdiction in Indian country, we bear in mind that the federal government, and Congress in particular, possesses plenary authority over Indian affairs. See Mathews, 133 Idaho at 311, 986 P.2d at 334. There are two independent but related barriers to the assertion of state regulatory authority over tribal reservations and members — the exercise of state authority may unlawfully infringe on the right of reservation Indians to make their own laws and be ruled by them or it may be preempted by federal law. White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 U.S. 136, 142, 100 S.Ct. 2578, 2582-83, 65 L.Ed.2d 665, 671-72 (1980); Mathews, 133 Idaho at 313, 986 P.2d at 336. The two barriers are related because the right of tribal self-government is ultimately dependent on and subject to the broad power of Congress. White Mountain, 448 U.S. at 143, 100 S.Ct. at 2583, 65 L.Ed.2d at 672. The United States Supreme Court has established a trend away from the idea of inherent Indian sovereignty as...