United States v. Delbert L. Dotson

Appellant Delbert L. Dotson was arrested on the Fort Lewis Military Reservation while driving his moped under the influence of alcohol. He was charged and convicted under the Assimilative Crimes Act (ACA), 18 U.S.C. § 13 , which makes it a federal crime for a person on a military base to commit a violation of the criminal law of the state in which the base is located. The sole question presented in this appeal is whether a moped is a “vehicle,” for purposes of a Washington motor vehicle statute that makes it a crime to drive a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

Dotson was tried before a magistrate-judge who entered a judgment of conviction and sentence of one year in prison plus a fine, without addressing the legal issue. The district court summarily affirmed, but stayed the sentence pending this appeal. We reverse.

The Assimilative Crimes Act is designed “to conform the criminal law of federal enclaves to that of the local law except in those instances in which a specific federal crime has been set forth.” United States v. Palmer, 956 F.2d 189, 191 (9th Cir.1992). Thus, a state statute, one assimilated through the ACA, becomes, in effect, a federal criminal…