Legal Question in Criminal Law in Idaho

Re: Non-tribal warrants

The answer to your question has recently been decided

by the Id Sup Court in Idaho v. Matthews, located at

133 Id 300 decided in 1999. The rule appears to be as follows:

1. The crime must have been committed off the reservation

and in the jurisdiction of the state of Idaho.

2. The Indian tribe must not have made procedures governing

the issue of off reservation crimes and warrants for searches on tribal

property.

3. If the tribe has made such procedures you must get the tribe's

permission to serve the warrant; if they haven't and the crime

was committed off the reservation, you can serve a warrant on

the reservation.

4. Because the tribe had not made such rules and procedures

in such circumstances and the crime was committed off the reservation

within the jurisdiction of the courts of Idaho, the warrant was properly

served and the district court's denial of the Defendant's

motion to suppress and the denial of his petition for post conviction relief

was upheld by the Id Sup Ct.

The State of Idaho v. Matthews case gives a very good summary of the

law in this area.

Some provisos however, Congress could change these rules at any time.

this opinion does not attempt to determine whether Congress has in some

way changed the law here but this isn't very likely.

Therefore, you should always check with the Bureau of Indian

Affairs and the tribe involved to determine whether they have

made procedures you must follow.

I'd check with the tribe in your area once a year or so

to make sure they haven't made procedures you must follow.