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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO Opinion Number: __________ Filing Date: April 1, 2013 Docket No. 31,322 STATE OF NEW MEXICO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STEVEN B., Defendant-Appellee. APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF McKINLEY COUNTY Grant L. Foutz, District Judge Gary K. King, Attorney General James W. Grayson, Assistant Attorney General Santa Fe, NM for Appellant Bennett J. Baur, Acting Chief Public Defender B. Douglas Wood III, Assistant Appellate Defender Santa Fe, NM for Appellee Harrison Tsosie, Attorney General Paul W. Spruhan, Assistant Attorney General Window Rock, AZ for Amicus Curiae Navajo Nation Department of Justice OPINION WECHSLER, Judge. {1} In State v. Dick, 1999-NMCA-062, 127 N.M. 382, 981 P.2d 796, this Court held that 1

the State does not have jurisdiction to prosecute a criminal defendant within Parcel Three of the former Fort Wingate Military Reservation (Parcel Three). A subsequent decision by the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, United States v. M.C., 311 F. Supp. 2d 1281 (D.N.M. 2004), decided otherwise. In this appeal, the State asks this Court to agree with the federal court decision and overrule its holding in Dick. Because we continue to believe that Parcel Three is within "Indian country" as defined by 18 U.S.C.

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