United States v. Graham

BENTON, Circuit Judge.

A grand jury indicted John Graham on one count of first degree murder, 18 U.S.C. § 1153. The district court 1 dismissed the indictment because it failed to allege his Indian status. Months later, the district court dismissed an identical count in a later indictment. The government appeals. This court affirms.

I

In 2003, a grand jury charged:

On or about the 12th day of December, 1975, near Wanblee, in Indian Country, in the District of South Dakota, the defendants, Fritz Arlo Looking Cloud, an Indian, and John Graham, a/k/a John Boy Patton, willfully, deliberately,…