Opinion ID: 2621228
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Procedural posture of the present litigation

Text: The separate events leading to the present litigation started in 1998, after the Tribal Council enacted a resolution that its ditch rider would adjust the Gund Ranch diversion, and that the State of Nevada Water Master and employees must cease attempts to assess fees and regulate South Fork waters. It became clear in early 1999 that the Tribe's ditch rider was not regulating the water in conformance with the Humboldt Decree. On September 13, 1999, Wayne Testolin, Supervising Water Commissioner for the Humboldt Decree, and two other water commissioners entered the reservation in order to reach the Gund Ranch diversion. A Tribal police officer and Tribal Council Chairman McDade followed them. When the water commissioners entered the Gund Ranch, the police officer stopped them and placed Testolin under arrest for trespass. The Tribal officer then escorted Testolin off the reservation. There is no indication that the Tribe attempted to prosecute Testolin. On September 20, 1999, the State Engineer responded by issuing Order 1154, which ordered the Tribe to allow the water commissioners access across the reservation. The Tribe did not respond, and on November 9, 1999, the State Engineer filed a petition with the district court seeking an order to show cause why the Tribe and McDade should not be held in contempt of court. [5] After the district court denied the Tribe and McDade's motion to dismiss the State Engineer's petition, they sought direct relief from this court by way of a writ of prohibition, which we denied. [6] We held that the Tribe had waived sovereign immunity in this matter, as the Sixth Judicial District Court had jurisdiction over the water rights appurtenant to the reservation land before the reservation existed. [7] On remand, the district court engaged in a lengthy analysis of state and federal law, and concluded that it had exclusive jurisdiction over the Humboldt River water rights. The district court found the Tribe and McDade in contempt for preventing the water commissioners, who are officers of the court, from enforcing the Humboldt Decree, and for diverting water in violation of the Humboldt Decree. The district court ordered McDade and the Tribe to refrain from interfering with the water commissioners or from diverting water from the Humboldt River. It also sentenced McDade to three days' imprisonment, but suspended the sentence. The court next ordered the Tribe to enact a resolution to provide a safe environment for the [w]ater [c]ommissioners and allow access to the tribal property by the [w]ater [c]ommissioners to carry out their duties under the Humboldt Decree. The district court stated that, if the Tribe did not enact such a resolution within thirty days, it would direct the Elko County Sheriff's Department to provide protection to the water commissioners while on the reservation. The district court next ordered that, should the Tribe fail to abide by these injunctions, it would be required to post a $10,000 bond to cover the cost of security guards and/or locking mechanisms to prevent the Tribe from diverting water in violation of the Humboldt Decree. Finally, the district court ordered the Tribe to pay any extraordinary costs incurred in enforcing the Humboldt Decree. The Tribe and McDade appeal, challenging: (1) the district court's order that the Tribe enact the resolution; (2) the order that, if the Tribe violates the contempt order, it must post a $10,000 bond; and (3) McDade's suspended three-day jail sentence.