State of New Mexico v. Travis Frank

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Mexico held that the State had jurisdiction to prosecute Travis Frank for vehicular homicide because the accident did not occur in Indian country. Applying Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, the court adopted the two-prong test requiring federal set-aside of land for Indian use and federal superintendence. The court rejected the requirement that a court first identify a separate community of reference and affirmed the district court while reversing the Court of Appeals.

Holdings

1. No. Courts need not determine a community of reference as a threshold inquiry before applying the two-prong Venetie test for identifying a dependent Indian community.
2. The accident site was not a dependent Indian community or Indian country, so New Mexico had jurisdiction to prosecute Frank.
3. The district court's findings were supported by substantial evidence and its conclusions correctly applied the law to the facts.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a court must conduct a community-of-reference inquiry before applying the two-prong test for a dependent Indian community established in Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government.
2. Whether the accident site was Indian country under 18 U.S.C. § 1151(b), such that New Mexico lacked jurisdiction to prosecute Frank.
3. Whether the district court's factual findings were supported by substantial evidence and its application of Venetie to those facts was legally correct.

Disposition

reversed