-Caveat Lector-

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to clarify
whether state officials can be sued in Indian tribal court over
actions taken on an Indian reservation.

The court said it will hear four Nevada wildlife officials'
argument that they are immune from being sued in tribal court
over the seizure of bighorn sheep head trophies from a man's home
on a reservation.

Floyd Hicks is a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and
lives on its reservation near Reno in western Nevada.

In August 1990, a Nevada game warden got a warrant from state and
tribal courts to search Hicks' property for evidence of the
killing of California bighorn sheep. Killing the sheep is a
misdemeanor under state law.

A tribal judge limited the search to ``exterior premises and any
vehicles.'' The game warden and a tribal police officer took a
mounted sheep's head trophy from Hicks' home. Officials later
returned it because it was of a different species than the
California bighorn.

In June 1991, the warden conducted another search with state and
tribal court approval, and took at least one sheep's head trophy
from Hicks' home. Again it was determined that the trophies were
not evidence of a crime and they were returned to him.

Hicks sued four Nevada wildlife officials in tribal court,
alleging violations of tribal law and his federal civil rights.
He sued them as individuals, not in their official capacities.

The wildlife officials asked a federal court to rule they were
protected from being sued in tribal court by Nevada's sovereign
immunity and by qualified immunity. Qualified immunity protects
government officials from being sued over their official acts so
long as they did not violate someone's clearly established
rights.

A federal judge upheld the tribal court's authority to hear the
case, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, saying
the tribal court should address the immunity issues first.

In the appeal acted on Tuesday, Nevada's lawyers, representing
the wildlife officials, called the case a challenge to state
sovereignty. The officials ``may not, in any capacity, under any
circumstances, be called to answer in a tribal forum,'' the
state's lawyers said.

Hicks' lawyers said tribal courts are presumed to have authority
over conduct on Indian reservations by non-Indians.

The case is Nevada v. Hicks, 99-1994.

On the Net: For the appeals court ruling:

http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html

Click on 9th Circuit.

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