Navajo Times, 2/7/08
Kykotsmovi, Ariz. - Judge Delfred Leslie of the Hopi Tribal
Court dismissed the criminal charge
of damaging fences against Rena Babbitt Lane on Jan. 25, according to a news
release from her
lawyer, James Zion.
The grounds for dismissal were that when three Hopi Rangers
went to her home on Nov. 4, 2006,
they illegally entered the "curtilage" of the home without a search
warrant.
Accordingly, the court was required to suppress the evidence,
consisting of photographs of
footprints and Lane's statements. There was no probable cause to support the
criminal
complaint without that evidence, so the court dismissed the complaint.
The opinion explained that the "curtilage" or "an
area immediately adjacent to a home" is
part of the home for purposes of illegal searches and seizures under the Indian
Civil Rights Act.
In this particular case, the defendant argued that a Navajo
curtilage includes a hogan, shade,
corrals and the area around the home where the earth is bare.
The defendant moved the court to suppress evidence and dismiss
on March 24, 2007. The
prosecution and defense filed briefs and the court held oral argument on April
17, 2007.
The court also issued a May 11, 2007, notice that the Internal
Affairs Division of the BIA's
Office of Law Enforcement Services had requested a copy of the court file to
conduct an
investigation into the Nov. 4, 2006 incident. Lane has not been informed of
the outcome
of that investigation.
Zion expressed his appreciation for the courtesies extended
to him and his client by the
court and the prosecution.