Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation member

By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that Native Americans prosecuted in certain tribal courts can also be prosecuted based on the same incident in federal court. That can result in longer sentences. The 6-3 ruling is in keeping with an earlier ruling from the 1970s that said the same about a more widely used type of tribal court. The case before the justices involved a Navajo Nation member accused of rape. He served nearly five months in jail after being charged with assault and battery in what is called a Court of Indian Offenses. The man was later prosecuted in federal court and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He said the Constitution’s “Double Jeopardy” clause should have barred the second prosecution.