United States v. Alfred John Thompson

STEPHENSON, Circuit Judge.

Alfred John Thompson, an Indian, appeals his conviction of assaulting his wife, Diane Marie Thompson, with a dangerous weapon, a .22 caliber rifle, with intent to do bodily harm, in violation of the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153. The Act “authorizes the prosecution in federal court of an Indian charged with the commission on an Indian reservation of certain specifically enumerated offenses.” Keeble v. United States, 412 U.S. 205, 205-206, 93 S.Ct. 1993, 1994, 36 L.Ed.2d 844 (1973).

At the close of trial, the United States District Court for the District of North…