Tenth Circuit Summaries

• Publication year: 2005
• Pages: 151

34 Colo.Law. 151 Colorado Bar Journal 2005.

2005, January, Pg. 151. Tenth Circuit Summaries

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151

Vol. 34, No. 1, Pg. 151

The Colorado Lawyer
January 2005
Vol. 34, No. 1 [Page 151]

From the Courts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Tenth Circuit Summaries

Summaries of selected opinions appear on a space-available basis. The summaries are prepared for the Colorado Bar Association by Jenine Jensen and Catherine Campbell, licensed Colorado attorneys. The summaries of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit are provided as a service by the Colorado Bar Association and are not the official language of the Court. The Colorado Bar Association cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the summaries

Full copies of the Tenth Circuit decisions are available on the CBA website at http: //www.cobar.org/hotlinks.cfm (United States Courts link to the Tenth Circuit). Call The Colorado Lawyer Editorial Offices with questions: (303) 860-1118

Indian Major Crimes Act - Assimilated Range of Punishment Under Federal Law - State Minimum and Maximum Sentences

U. S. v. Wood, No. 03-5188, 10/18/04, N.D.Okla., Judge Baldock

The issue on appeal is whether the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines ("Guidelines"), or generally-applicable state sentencing laws, apply when a defendant is convicted under the Indian Major Crimes Act ("Act"). Under the Act, state law defines the element of the crime and the range of punishment.

Defendant is a Native American who pled guilty to one count of second-degree burglary in Indian Country, in violation of the Act. Burglary is not defined and punished by federal law. In Oklahoma, the minimum sentence for second-degree burglary is two years. The pre-sentence report set defendant's Guidelines range at 0 - 6 months. Defendant sought a suspended sentence and probation, which are available under Oklahoma law. The district court ruled that it lacked discretion to suspend defendant's sentence under the Guidelines, because federal law assimilated only the range of punishment between the minimum and maximum sentences in the state statute and not the suspension and probation provisions. Because the Guidelines range fell below the minimum state sentence, the court sentenced defendant to the minimum of two years in prison. Defendant appeals.

The Tenth Circuit affirms. A district court must sentence any defendant found guilty of violating a federal criminal statute, including the Act, under the Guidelines. When sentencing...