In re Custody of S.R.T.

OPINION

Opinion delivered by

TSO, Chief Justice.

This case comes before the Court on a petition for writ of prohibition to the Shiprock Family Court. Petitioner, Stanley Barron, asserts that the courts of the Navajo Nation lack jurisdiction to hear a matter involving custody of a child, who is an enrolled member of the Navajo Tribe of Indians, but who resides outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation.

We hold that the Shiprock Family Court has jurisdiction over the child custody matter, pursuant to the Navajo Nation Children’s Code, and deny the petition for writ of prohibition.

I

Th…