THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin
Go to Shellow Collection Table of Contents

The Major Crimes Act: Offenses Committed Within Indian Country (18 USC 1153)

    1.    Crime Must Have Occurred Within Federal Jurisdiction
    2.    Whether Defendant Enrolled Members Of Tribe

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

1.    Crime Must Have Occurred Within Federal Jurisdiction

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

    The government bears the additional burden of proving to you by the greater weight of the evidence that the acts which form the basis of the indictment occurred within the _________ (federal jurisdiction e.g., Menominee Indian reservation). There must be specific evidence from which you can draw that conclusion, and you may not speculate on this issue or any other. If you are not satisfied by the greater weight of the evidence received that the crime charged occurred within the _________ (federal jurisdiction e.g., Menominee Indian reservation), you must find the defendant not guilty of the crime charged, and not guilty of any lesser crime.

United States v. Moeckley, 769 F.2d 453, 460-61 (8th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1104 (1986).

RELATED MATERIALS:

See NCJIC 257.11 Venue.

THE SHELLOW COLLECTION
Jury Instructions By James M. Shellow of Wisconsin

2.    Whether Defendant Enrolled Members Of Tribe

ALERT: Carefully review the Caveats and Disclaimers before using these materials.

    You may not convict the accused of any offense unless you find first that the government has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that [both] __________ (name of defendant) and __________ (name of defendant)are __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) Indians. In deciding whether the government has proven that both men are __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) Indians, you may consider any proof, or lack of proof, of the following factors: whether these two men have a significant percentage of Indian blood, the race of their parents, their enrollment or non-enrollment in the __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) tribe, whether they observe __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) tribal religious and social customs, whether they are recognized as Indians by either the __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) tribe or the federal government, and whether they received tribal allotments of money. If you are left with a reasonable doubt whether either __________ (name of defendant) or __________ (name of defendant) are __________ (name of tribe e.g., Menominee) Indians after considering all these factors, you must acquit the accused.

United States v. Rogers, 45 U.S. (4 How.) 567 (1845); United States v. Antelope, 430 U.S. 641, 646 n.7 (1977); Ex Parte Pero, 99 F.2d 28, 30-32 (7th Cir. 1938), cert. denied, 306 U.S. 643 (1939); United States v. Broncheau, 597 F.2d 1260, 1263 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 859 (1979); United States v. Gardner, 189 F. 690 (E.D. Wis. 1911).