Ninth Circuit Holds Unauthenticated Tribal Membership Card Insufficient for Proving Indian Status under Major Crimes Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in United States v. Alvirez (opinion here):

Alvirez Brief

Federal Appellee Brief

Alvirez Reply

From the court’s syllabus:

Reversing a conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury on an Indian reservation in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 and 113(a)(6), the panel held that the district court abused its discretion when it admitted an unauthenticated Certificate of Indian Blood issued by the Colorado River Indian Tribes as evidence that the defendant has tribal or federal government recognition as an Indian. The panel wrote that because Indian tribes are not listed among the entities that may produce self-authenticatingdocuments, the district court abused its discretion in admitting the Certificate pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 902(1) as a self-authenticating document.

 

2 thoughts on “Ninth Circuit Holds Unauthenticated Tribal Membership Card Insufficient for Proving Indian Status under Major Crimes Act”

  1. Pingback: Perhaps as Many as Three Ninth Circuit Indian Criminal Cases Uncertain as Feds Ponder En Banc Petition in U.S. v. Zepeda | Turtle Talk
  2. Pingback: Updated Ninth Circuit Briefs in United States v. Alvirez | Turtle Talk

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