United States Ninth Circuit

Conviction for assault is reversed where the evidence adduced during defendant's trial did not satisfy the test for determining whether an individual can be prosecuted by the federal government under 18 U.S.C. section 1153, a statute governing the conduct of Indians in Indian Country, thus the district court's failure to grant defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal was plain error.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/11/2008
• Decided 02/10/2009
• Published 02/10/2009

Judges

• Before:  ALEX KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, STEPHEN REINHARDT and SIDNEY R. THOMAS, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Ryan M. Archer, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana, Helena, MT, for the plaintiff-appellee., Joseph E. Thaggard, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Montana, Helena, MT, for the plaintiff-appellee., R. Henry Branom Jr., Assistant Federal Defender, Federal Defender for the District of Montana, Great Falls, MT, for the defendant-appellant.