United States v. Wheeler

What happened

Wheeler, a member of the Navajo Tribe, pleaded guilty in tribal court to contributing to the delinquency of a minor and was sentenced. He was later indicted by a federal grand jury for statutory rape arising out of the same incident.

He asked the federal court to dismiss the indictment. He argued that the tribal offense was a lesser included offense of statutory rape, so the tribal case barred a second prosecution under the Double Jeopardy Clause. The district court granted the motion and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that tribal courts and federal district courts are not "arms of separate sovereigns."

On March 22, 1978, the Supreme Court reversed. Justice Stewart wrote for the Court that the controlling question was the source of a tribe's power to punish tribal offenders: whether it is part of inherent tribal sovereignty or a federal power delegated by Congress. Indian tribes "still possess those aspects of sovereignty not withdrawn by treaty or statute, or by implication as a necessary result of their dependent status." From the treaties between the Navajo Tribe and the United States and the federal criminal statutes, the Court found the Navajo Tribe had never given up its power to punish tribal offenders.

When a tribe punishes a member for violating tribal law, the Court said, it acts as an independent sovereign, and tribal and federal prosecutions are not "for the same offence." Every other justice joined the opinion except Justice Brennan, who took no part.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error