Peter H. Joe v. United States

MURRAH, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from an order of the district court dismissing without a hearing a § 2255 petition to set aside a conviction for rape on an Indian reservation under the Major Crimes Act of 1885, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153, 3242. We reverse the order.

The Act confers federal jurisdiction over certain enumerated major crimes, including rape, committed by an Indian on an Indian reservation. In this case, the indictment charged the crime of rape, which under the Act is to be defined in accordance with local law. The trial court was requested to instruct on non-enumerated offenses —…