Opinion ID: 2519859
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Frank I

Text: {6} Defendant appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeals arguing that the state court lacked jurisdiction. Frank, 1997-NMCA-093, ¶ 1, 123 N.M. 734, 945 P.2d 464. The sole issue on appeal was whether the accident occurred within the boundaries of a dependent Indian community, and therefore within Indian country. Id. To determine whether the accident occurred in a dependent Indian community, the Court of Appeals examined the multi-factor test established in Watchman. Id. ¶ 5. The Court of Appeals ultimately reversed and remanded the case, mandating that the district court apply the Watchman test. Id. ¶ 15. {7} After the case was remanded, but before the district court re-analyzed the jurisdiction issue, the Supreme Court decided Venetie. The Venetie decision established a two-prong test requiring courts to determine if the land at issue was federally set-aside for the use of Indians as Indian lands and was also under federal superintendence. Venetie, 522 U.S. at 527, 118 S.Ct. 948. The district court concluded that the Supreme Court decision superseded any previous law on the matter and therefore applied the Venetie analysis rather than the Watchman analysis. Frank, 2001-NMCA-026, ¶ 6, 130 N.M. 306, 24 P.3d 338. The district court issued findings of fact and conclusions of law in which the court concluded that the accident did not occur in a dependent Indian community and that the State had jurisdiction over the matter. Id. ¶ 4.