United States v. Jane Doe (r.s.w.)

Opinion by Judge SCHWARZER; Dissent by Judge Fletcher.

SCHWARZER, Senior District Judge:

R.S.W., a young Indian person on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, was found guilty of juvenile delinquency pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032 after a bench trial in the district court for having committed arson in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 81 and 1153. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm but on a ground different from that relied on by the district court.

I

On February 12, 1996, at approximately 10 a.m., a fire occurred at the Morning Star School in Lame Deer on the Northern…