The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a Navajo Nation member wasn't subjected to double jeopardy when he was convicted on sexual assault charges in federal court following a prosecution in a federally funded Court of Indian Offenses, saying that the Constitution doesn't block successive prosecutions.
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Justices Urged To Deny Navajo Man s Double Jeopardy Claims
Law360 (July 20, 2021, 8:25 PM EDT) The federal government has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a Navajo Nation member s bid to overturn his federal court conviction on a sexual abuse charge, saying the Tenth Circuit rightly found that his earlier criminal indictment by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe didn t mean he was subjected to double jeopardy.
Navajo member Merle Denezpi asked the high court in March to overturn the Tenth Circuit panel s ruling, saying that the Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated Court of Indian Offenses of the Ute Mountain Ute Agency also known as a Code of Federal Regulations, or CFR, court that handled.