Walker v. Rushing
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
898 F.2d 672 (1990)
- Written by Matthew Celestin, JD
Facts
In 1987, Ann Walker (defendant), a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska (the tribe) (plaintiff), killed two other tribe members while driving on a public road within the tribe’s reservation. The tribe brought criminal homicide charges against Walker in tribal court. Walker filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the tribal court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. The tribal court denied the motion, and Walker applied for a writ of habeas corpus in a federal district court, arguing that the Major Crimes Act (MCA), at 18 U.S.C. § 1153 (1982)—which granted federal courts jurisdiction over certain crimes committed by Indians within Indian country—gave federal courts exclusive jurisdiction over Walker’s case. The tribe argued that, although Nebraska’s legislature generally ceded criminal jurisdiction over Indian offenses within Indian country to the federal government, Nebraska specifically retained jurisdiction over offenses involving motor vehicles on public roads, and therefore, because Walker’s offense involved a motor vehicle on a public road, the district court lacked jurisdiction over the matter. The district court agreed with Walker and granted the writ. The tribe appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lay, C.J.)
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