Opinion ID: 1448287
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts pertaining to both appeals

Text: On January 16, 1992, Mathews was arrested and charged with the murder of his estranged wife, Holly Morris (Morris), who was found dead in her home in Lewiston, Idaho. Mathews is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe, and was living on the reservation at the time of Morris's death. A few days prior to Mathews's arrest, Officer Greene of the Lewiston Police Department prepared two affidavits in support of requests for search warrants for Mathews's home on the reservation and the home of Mathews's sister and brother-in-law, Donna and Bill Henry, also on the reservation. Officer Greene informed Officer Ed Rolfe of the Lapwai office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the warrants. Rolfe contacted Judge Miles of the Nez Perce Tribal Court and informed her that the warrants were being prepared. Judge Miles told Rolfe she would meet the officers at her office prior to the search to review the warrants pursuant to the Nez Perce Tribal Law and Order Code. On January 13, 1992, Officer Greene took the affidavits for the search warrants to Nez Perce County Magistrates Perry and Elliott. Judge Perry signed the documents regarding the warrant for the Mathews's home and Judge Elliott was given all the documents relating to the search warrant for the Henry residence. Judge Elliott notarized the officer's oath on the Affidavit for Search Warrant and signed all other documents regarding the warrant except the detention order and the search warrant. The warrant and detention order were signed the following day, on January 14, 1992, after they had been executed. The Lewiston Police Department, accompanied by Deputy Don Taylor of the Nez Perce County Sheriff's Office and a BIA officer, executed the search warrants at the Henry home on the Nez Perce Reservation without obtaining the prior approval of Judge Miles. The Lewiston police did confer with the BIA, with tribal prosecutor Elliot Moffett, and with the Idaho Attorney General and the United States Attorney's office before executing the warrants. As a result of the searches, the Lewiston officers recovered, on execution of the unsigned warrant, the murder weapon and a pair of tennis shoes that matched tracks found at the scene of the crime. Mathews was then arrested and charged with the first degree murder of Morris. Mathews moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the Henry home on the grounds that the state authorities lacked jurisdiction to execute a warrant in Indian Country. This motion was denied and Mathews entered an Idaho Criminal Rule 11 plea of guilty preserving this issue for appeal.