4 NICS App. 78, MIC v. ALBERT (July 1996)

IN THE METLAKATLA TRIBAL COURT OF APPEALS

    METLAKATLA INDIAN COMMUNITY

    METLAKATLA, ALASKA

    Metlakatla Indian Community, Respondent

    v.

    Robert Albert, Appellant

    No. 95-09 (July 17, 1996)

SUMMARY

Magistrate’s Court found Appellant guilty of operating a motor vehicle without a valid licence, a class C offense carrying a maximum allowable penalty of one-hundred dollars. The Magistrate’s Court imposed a five-hundred dollar fine, a class A penalty.

We affirm the judgment and modify the sentence in accordance with § 13.23.03 of the Motor Vehicle Code.

FULL TEXT

Before:            Elbridge Coochise, Chief Justice; Dennis L. Nelson, Justice; John L. Roe, Justice.

Appearances:  Robert Albert, pro se Appellant; Harris Atkinson, for the Metlakatla Indian Community.

This matter came before the Metlakatla Tribal Court of Appeals pursuant to Appellant’s Notice of Appeal filed on June 13, 1995. Appellant appeals the Magistrate’s Court entry on January 9, 1995 of a default judgment finding him guilty of operating a vehicle without a license.

JURISDICTION

This Court has personal jurisdiction over Appellant because he is a member of the Metlakatla Indian Community. The act which is the subject of this appeal occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Metlakatla Indian Reservation, giving rise to territorial jurisdiction. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to Ordinance 702, §§ 2(a) and (b), and Article V of the Metlakatla Constitution.

ISSUE ON APPEAL

    The issue on appeal is whether the Magistrate’s Court erred in imposing a Class A penalty

4 NICS App. 78, MIC v. ALBERT (July 1996) p. 79

upon Mr. Albert for a Class C offense.

DISCUSSION

Mr. Albert was charged with operating a motor vehicle without a licence. Appellant failed to appear at the trial court hearing, at which time the Magistrate’s Court entered a default judgment against Mr. Albert, finding him guilty of violating § 13.21.06 of the Motor Vehicle Code. The Magistrate’s Court fined Mr. Albert five-hundred dollars ($500.00) and ordered that he not operate a vehicle without carrying a valid license on his person.

Chapter 13.23 of the Motor Vehicle Code governs penalties for violations of the code. Section 13.23.03 classifies offenses as Class A, B, or C, and establishes penalties for each class of offense. Section 13.23.04 provides: “Any violation of this Motor Vehicle Code shall be a Class C offense unless it is classified as a different offense under this Chapter 13.23.”

Operation of a vehicle without a license is not classified as a separate offense under Chapter 13.23; therefore, it is a Class C offense. A Class C offense carries a penalty of “ . . . not greater than $100 nor less than $50. . . .” Section 13.23.03(c). The Magistrate’s Court, however, fined Mr. Albert five-hundred dollars ($500.00), the maximum allowable penalty for a Class A offense. Section 13.23.03(a).

This Court finds that the Magistrate’s Court erred in imposing a Class A penalty upon Mr. Albert for a Class C offense.

It is hereby ordered that the Magistrate’s Court judgment that Mr. Albert is guilty of operating a vehicle without a license is affirmed.

It is further ordered that the penalty imposed upon Mr. Albert is modified and that Mr. Albert shall pay a fine of one-hundred dollars ($100.00) pursuant to § 13.23.03(c) of the Motor Vehicle Code.