Fortino Alvarez v. Randy Tracy

Opinion by Judge N.R. Smith; Dissent by Judge Kozinski.

OPINION

N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judge;

A petitioner’s failure to exhaust a claim brought under the Indian Civil Rights Act (the “ICRA”), 25 U.S.C. § 1303, does not deprive the federal court of subject matter jurisdiction. Iowa Mid. Ins. Co. v. LaPlante, 480 U.S. 9, 16 n. 8, 107 S.Ct. 971, 94 L.Ed.2d 10 (1987); Grand Canyon Skywalk Dev., LLC v. ‘Sa’ Nyu Wa Inc., 715 F.3d 1196, 1200 (9th Cir.2013); Selam v. Warm Springs Tribal Corr. Facility, 134 F.3d 948, 953 (9th Cir.1998). Nevertheless, exhaustion under the *1013ICRA is a “prerequisite to a federal…