The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 13 that a Navajo Indian man’s constitutional rights were not violated when he was prosecuted in a second federally established court after being convicted by another court in the same incident.
Although the Fifth Amendment states that no person shall “be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb,” under the dual sovereignty doctrine, a second prosecution is allowed if the defendant was tried first in a state or tribal court.
Navajo Indian Merle Denezpi of Shiprock, New Mexico, was arrested by a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police officer after a July 2017 sexual encounter with a Navajo woman identified as V.Y. Denezpi claimed it was consensual but V.Y. said it was not. Denezpi reportedly threatened to kill the woman if she reported the assault. A Sexual Assault Nurse Exam was completed on the woman which showed she suffered significant bruising and injuries; a test showed Denezpi’s DNA was present on the victim….