United States Eighth Circuit

Defendant's conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian country is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly submitted the issue of defendant's Indian status to the jury as an element of 18 U.S.C. section 1153(a); 2) the district court's instructions on defendant's Indian status were not an abuse of discretion; 3) sufficient evidence supported the jury-s finding that defendant was an Indian for purposes of the section 1153(a) offense; 4) the instructions as a whole did not constructively amend the indictment by permitting the jury to convict defendant of an uncharged offense; and 5) the district court properly enhanced defendant's sentence as a career offender.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/22/2009
• Published 09/22/2009

Judges

• LOKEN, Chief Judge., Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, JOHN R. GIBSON and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Scott Duncan McGregor, AFPD, argued, Rapid City, SD,(Edward Albright, AFPD, Pierre, SD, on the brief), for Defendant-Appellant., Mark E. Salter, AUSA, argued, Sioux Falls, SD, (Timothy Marshall Maher, AUSA, Pierre SD, on the brief), for Plaintiff-Appellee.