Bill allows feds and state officials to prosecute for crimes on pueblo lands
New Mexico Business Weekly - by NMBW Staff
A new law that grants federal and state authorities the ability to prosecute people for committing crimes on private lands within pueblo borders was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Dec. 20.
The measure was authored by New Mexico's senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman. Prior to its passage, crimes could be committed on these lands without the prospect of ever being prosecuted.
The new law amends the Indian Pueblo Land Act of 1924 and clarifies when a crime should be prosecuted and who should prosecute it. Supporters of the new law have cited past incidents of stabbings, sexual assaults and battery charges that were never prosecuted because state and federal agencies were never clear on the jurisdictional boundaries within Indian Country.
"Every inch of New Mexico is now under the rule of law," U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-NM, said in a prepared statement. "We've cleared up the murky jurisdictions that could have been a loophole for criminals."
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