United States v. Bryant, Jr.

Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic assault by a habitual offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. 117(a). On appeal, defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that using his tribal court convictions to satisfy an element of section 117(a) violates his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. The court concluded that the government waived its argument that defendant failed to make an evidentiary showing that his tribal court convictions were uncounseled. The court held, under United States v. Ant, that the government may not rely on tribal court convictions as predicate offenses in section 117(a) prosecutions unless the tribal court afforded the same right to counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment in federal and state prosecutions. In this case, defendant's relevant tribal convictions do not meet this standard and the charges against him must be dismissed. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Bryant, Jr." on Justia Law