Cabazon Band of Mission Indians v. Smith

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON SECOND AND THIRD CLAIMS FOR RELIEF

I. Introduction

Plaintiffs, the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians and Paul D. Hare, in his capacity as Director, Cabazon Public Safety Department, have moved for summary judgment on the second and third claims respectively for declaratory and injunctive relief against defendants Larry D. Smith, individually, and as Sheriff of Riverside County, Ronald F. Dye, individually, and as Captain of the Riverside County Sheriffs Department, Indio Station and the County of Riverside. The present motion concerns the asserted right of uniformed and armed Cabazon Public Safety Department officers to travel on public highways across non-Indian lands in marked tribal police vehicles equipped with emergency light bars. It is undisputed that the California Vehicle Code would prohibit the operation of the Cabazon Band’s police units on those highways with uncovered emergency light bars. The legal issue presented is whether California law is preempted by the Tribe’s sovereign authority to establish and operate a police department to enforce the criminal law on reservation lands.

For the reasons stated below, the Court…