APPEAL HEARING ON FEB.13, 2005 -St Louis Missouri
APPEAL HEARING SCHEDULED ON FEB 13, 2006 at ST LOUIS MISSOURI TO ADDRESS LAKOTA NATION SOVEREIGNTY
January 23, 2005
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
For Immediate Release
A hearing has been scheduled for February 13, 2006 to correct the illegal sentencing that occured in Leonard Peltier's case. The basis for this motion is that the United States District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the statutes upon which Mr. Peltier was convicted and sentenced. The statutes in question require that the crime take place “within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States”. Since the deaths of the agents occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation which is neither “within the special maritime [or] territorial jurisdiction of the United States”, the Peltier defense team is asking the Court to grant Mr. Peltier’s motion and vacate the illegal sentences imposed upon him. If the Court does not recognize the Pine Ridge Reservation as sovereign “then one must wonder, what does sovereignty mean?” stated Barry Bachrach, attorney for Leonard Peltier. “Sovereignty seems to be a concept that is merely given lip service. It is raised when the government does not want to get involved, and infringed when the government wants to take action.” According to Bachrach, “This hearing is important because Mr. Peltier was never charged with crimes over which the United States had jurisdiction. The history of the constitution, and the statutes implicated, unequivocally establish that Mr. Peltier was not convicted under the Indian Crimes Act, which is the only possible authority under which the government could have tried and convicted Mr. Peltier. Whereas here, the court had no jurisdiction to convict Mr. Peltier under the crimes for which he was convicted, those convictions must be set aside as a matter of law.”
The hearing will take place on Monday Feb 13, 2006
January 23, 2005
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
For Immediate Release
A hearing has been scheduled for February 13, 2006 to correct the illegal sentencing that occured in Leonard Peltier's case. The basis for this motion is that the United States District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the statutes upon which Mr. Peltier was convicted and sentenced. The statutes in question require that the crime take place “within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States”. Since the deaths of the agents occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation which is neither “within the special maritime [or] territorial jurisdiction of the United States”, the Peltier defense team is asking the Court to grant Mr. Peltier’s motion and vacate the illegal sentences imposed upon him. If the Court does not recognize the Pine Ridge Reservation as sovereign “then one must wonder, what does sovereignty mean?” stated Barry Bachrach, attorney for Leonard Peltier. “Sovereignty seems to be a concept that is merely given lip service. It is raised when the government does not want to get involved, and infringed when the government wants to take action.” According to Bachrach, “This hearing is important because Mr. Peltier was never charged with crimes over which the United States had jurisdiction. The history of the constitution, and the statutes implicated, unequivocally establish that Mr. Peltier was not convicted under the Indian Crimes Act, which is the only possible authority under which the government could have tried and convicted Mr. Peltier. Whereas here, the court had no jurisdiction to convict Mr. Peltier under the crimes for which he was convicted, those convictions must be set aside as a matter of law.”
The hearing will take place on Monday Feb 13, 2006
Time: 9 am
Location: Thomas Eagleton Courthouse
Southeast Courtroom, 27thfloor
11o S. 10th Street
St Louis, Missouri
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
LEONARD PELTIER DEFENSE COMMITTEE @915-533-6655
BARRY BACHRACH, LPDC ATTORNEY, 508-926-3403
posted by Leonard @ 7:32 AM
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