United States v. John Doe, a Juvenile

John Doe, a juvenile Indian, sexually assaulted a teacher on the Tohono O’Od-ham Indian Reservation in Arizona. He was charged in federal district court with juvenile delinquency and several assault-related offenses. Doe moved to dismiss the information on the ground that his trial was not held within the time required by 18 U.S.C. § 5036 . The district court denied the motion. Doe pleaded guilty to the charges against him but reserved his right to pursue this appeal of the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss. We conclude that the speedy trial standard of 18 U.S.C. § 5036 was violated because Doe was not tried within thirty days after his certification for federal juvenile proceedings. We accordingly reverse the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to dismiss the information.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Doe sexually assaulted the teacher in August 1999 and turned himself in to tribal authorities two months later. His case received attention from both tribal and federal prosecutors. The Tohono O’Odham Nation filed charges against Doe relating to the August assault and two additional, unrelated sexual assaults. The federal government…