On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of United States v. Merle Denezpi, a Navajo man hit with a 30-year prison sentence after a Colorado federal jury found him guilty of aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country.
The Fifth Amendment of U.S. Constitution protects individuals from being prosecuted twice for the same offense – the right to be free of double jeopardy. Denezpi argues that the prosecution violated his right against double jeopardy because he had already been charged with, and covicted of the same crime by a Bureau of Indian Affairs court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against Denezpi, and he petitioned the Supreme Court for review.
The outcome of the case will depend on what sovereign – tribal or federal – is the source of authority for Denezpi’s initial prosecution in the Court of Indian Offenses.
The doctrine of separate sovereigns allows successive prosecutions by federal prosecutors and state prosecutors, and even tribal prosecutors. But Denezpi claims that the BIA's Court of Indian Offenses of the Ute Mountain Ute Agency, also known as a Code of Federal Regulations court, is part of the same federal judicial system that ultimately convicted him. "The history and structure of the CFR Courts establish they are arms of the federal government despite also functioning as tribal forums in areas lacking independent tribal courts," he said in his petition.
According to the federal government, Denezpi's conviction did not violate double jeopardy because CFR courts draws their power from tribal sovereignty even though they are operated by the federal government. CFR courts are "simply a mechanism for effectuating tribal sovereignty," the government wrote.