United States v. James Junior Finch

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge:

This case began when James Junior Finch stood on a bank of the Big Horn River and cast a fishing lure into the waters. He was charged by information with trespassing on Indian lands, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1165. The bank and the bed of the Big Horn River at the point where Finch stood lie within the exterior boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation. All concede that the State of Montana owns the bank at that spot, having acquired the property by purchase. The state’s chain of title can be traced to a Crow Indian who acquired the land by allotment.

Finch held a…