The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against an American Indian who claimed the feds couldn’t prosecute him for sex abuse after he had already pleaded guilty to assault and battery in tribal court.
Merle Denezpi claimed the dual punishment violated the Constitution’s protection against double jeopardy, where someone can’t be prosecuted twice for the same crime.
But in a 6-3 ruling, the high court said Denezpi was charged with separate crimes — assault and battery in the Court of Indian Offenses and sex abuse under the feds’ Major Crime Act in federal court. The justices’ votes were not divided along ideological lines.