Acoma Pueblo tribal court

Tribal Court Rejects Effort to Stop Automatic Disenrollment of Nooksack Members in Violation of Court Order

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the new materials in Lomeli v. Kelly (Nooksack Tribal Court):

Lomeli v Kelly Motion for Order Re Contempt

Lomeli v Kelly Defendants’ Opposition to Motion for Order to Show Cause RE Contempt

Lomeli v Kelly Motion for Contempt Reply

Lomeli v Kelly Order Denying Motion for Order to Show Cause

Apparently, four Nooksacks have been automatically disenrolled, since August, in violation of a Stipulation and Order in Lomeli providing that nobody would be disenrolled until all of the hearings were concluded.

New Mexico Court of Appeals Holds that Tribal Court Child Custody Case Does Not Preempt State Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in State v. Diggs, in which the court rejected a double jeopardy argument. An excerpt:

Defendants Jonathan Diggs and Rebecca Miller appeal in advance of their trial from the district court’s denial of their motions to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds. We consider whether the New Mexico Constitution and double jeopardy statute prohibit the State from prosecuting Defendants for child abuse because the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) previously investigated Defendants for child abuse and the Acoma Pueblo tribal court previously held a custody hearing on the same issues. We hold that there was no double jeopardy violation and affirm.