United States v. Michael Bryant, Jr.

The conflict that presents itself again and again in this case is how to apply Nichols v. United States, 511 U.S. 738, 114 S.Ct. 1921, 128 L.Ed.2d 745 (1994), to cases like Bryant, where the government seeks to use uncounseled tribal court misdemeanor convictions as an essential element of a felony prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 117(a).1 The dissents from denial of rehearing en banc, along with two other circuits, urge a bright-line reading of Nichols that permits the use of these convictions as long as they do not violate the Sixth Amendment (which tribal court convictions, by definition,…