Opinion
23-CR-182-JFH
04-30-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DARREN ALVIE ROCK, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
JOHNF. HEIL, III UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court is a Motion to Determine Indian Country as a Matter of Law (“Motion”) filed by Plaintiff United States of America (the “Government”). Dkt. No. 53. The Government asks the Court to determine, as a matter of law, that 1111 E. 12th Street, Okmulgee, Oklahoma is within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted.
A “district court can find, as a matter of law, a geographic area or particular location is Indian Country, and then instruct the jury to determine factually whether the offense occurred there.” United States v. Roberts, 185 F.3d 1125, 1139-40 (10th Cir. 1999). The party seeking to invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the case is within the Court's jurisdiction. United States v. Bustillos, 31 F.3d 931, 933 (10th Cir. 1994).
The Tenth Circuit was clear in Roberts that, “[a]s a general matter, the trial court decides the jurisdictional status of a particular property or area and then leaves to the jury the factual determination of whether the alleged crime occurred at the site.” 185 F.3d at 1139. “[A] trial court [] acts appropriately when it makes the jurisdictional ruling a particular tract of land or geographic area is Indian Country, and then instructs the jury to determine whether the alleged offense occurred there.” Id.
Here the Government submits for the Court's review a map of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, showing that 1111 E. 12th Street, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 74447 is within the Nation's boundaries. Dkt. No. 53-1. The Court finds this sufficient to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the location of the charged events is within Indian country. A jury, however, will determine the factual question of whether anything of a criminal nature occurred at the 1111 E. 12th Street, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 74447 address.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Motion to Determine Indian Country as a Matter of Law filed at Dkt. No. 53 is GRANTED.