Appeals court acquits man because he isn't Indian (AP)

[Yahoo! News]

AP - A federal appeals court Tuesday reversed the conviction of a Montana man imprisoned for assaulting a woman because the law under which he was charged required that he be an American Indian.

Christopher Cruz has been serving a sentence of three years and nine months since his 2007 conviction on a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, which is a federal offense when committed by an American Indian on an Indian reservation.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted that although Cruz has "descendant" status with the Blackfeet Tribe, he doesn't meet the criteria to be legally classified as an American Indian. The panel voted 2-1 to acquit Cruz of the federal charge.

The judges cited criteria such as tribal enrollment and government recognition, which could take the form of receiving assistance given only to Indians.

The defense said Cruz has 22 percent Indian blood. His appeal argued that prosecutors failed to prove he could be classified as Indian under federal law and that the trial judge erred in instructing jurors about the issue.

Cruz was convicted of injuring an intoxicated woman during an altercation on Dec. 21, 2006, outside a motel room on the Blackfeet reservation, according to court records.

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