United States v. Juvenile Female

Appellant, a juvenile female and member of an Indian tribe, while driving under the influence of alcohol was involved in an accident which claimed the life of a passenger in another car. She was charged in a tribal court, entered a plea and was sentenced. After she had completed a diversion program and fulfilled the terms of probation imposed by the tribal court, the United States Attorney charged her in the district court with the juvenile offense of involuntary manslaughter for the same conduct. The district court denied her pretrial motion to dismiss the charge and she now appeals.

FACTS

On October 10, 1986, appellant, then 17 years old, drove recklessly on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon, causing an accident which resulted in the death of a passenger in another vehicle.

The incident was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. After a conference among the Warm Springs Chief Tribal Judge, an FBI agent and a BIA agent, the tribal court assumed jurisdiction over the case. Although interested in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Youngman acquiesced in this arrangement. At the time, he…