Man challenges court jurisdiction on his DUI cases

KINGMAN - A local man says Mohave County Superior Court has no jurisdiction in prosecuting him for driving under the influence.

Rex Carl Sagely, 60, was arrested shortly after midnight on Jan. 2, after a deputy with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said he observed Sagely's gray Ford pickup swerve into the other lane while traveling northbound on Patsy Drive.

Sagely was taken into custody after deputies performed a field sobriety test. Sagely refused a breath-analysis test while at the Sheriff's Office and was transported to Kingman Regional Medical Center, where his blood alcohol content tested at .147, nearly twice the legal limit.





Sagely's January arrest was his third DUI arrest in the last year. He was arrested last August and September by Mohave County Sheriff's deputies and each time refused the breath-analysis tests. Those cases are still open.

At an evidentiary hearing Thursday, Sagely, who is serving as his own attorney, said he believed the search warrant used to obtain his blood was not signed by a judge before the sample was taken at the hospital. The deputy who arrested Sagely testified at the hearing that he obtained the judge's signature before transporting Sagely to the hospital. He said he may have made copies of the warrant before taking it to be signed.

Sagely said the copy provided to him by the deputy was not signed. Judge Rick Williams said it was possible Sagely was provided with a copy of the warrant made before it was signed by a judge and denied the defense's motion to suppress the blood evidence.

Sagely has filed several motions to have the case thrown out of court before it goes to trial. Sagely joined the Little Shell band of Chippewa Indians five years ago. He said that as a member, he is subject to the tribe's laws, not the state of Arizona's laws.

"I realized I didn't have the rights Native American have," he said.

Sagely cancelled his Arizona driver's license in March 2008 and obtained an international identification card, which he said negates his driving contract with the state of Arizona.

The court says it has jurisdiction in cases that occur on non-tribal land regardless of the defendant's heritage.

Richard Neal, assistant attorney for the tribe, said the court is pre-empting the tribe from enforcing its own law.

"We're entitled to the revenue, not the state of Arizona," Neal said. "The only reason the state is prosecuting is for the revenue."

Sagely admits to having about three to four drinks prior to being pulled over, "but that was sometime prior to getting onto the highway," he said. He said the state has failed to provide him with copies of the original tickets, along with other documents such as copies of federal treaties with Native Americans.

"Denying me the tickets denies me a fair trial," Sagely said.

Williams said Sagely could still conduct pre-trial witness interviews without the original tickets. He also said many of the documents requested by Sagely are "arcane documents" not relevant to the trial and are not in the possession or control of the state.

"I realize there is a difference in opinion in what the defense feels is relevant and what the court feels is relevant," Williams said.

Neal said Williams is "rubber-stamping motions made by the prosecution."

"We know he's going to deny it (defense motions) before he's even heard it," Neal said.


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