Magistrate: Conviction Should Be Reversed For Lack Of Tribal Code Rights

(May 10, 2017, 12:39 PM EDT) -- ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal judge should grant a prisoner’s writ of habeas corpus, reverse his tribal court battery conviction and release him from jail because the tribe that prosecuted him denied him the right to a jury trial, a federal magistrate judge in New Mexico ruled May 8 (Alan Fragua v. Al Casamento, Director, Sandoval County Detention Center, No. 16-1404, D. N.M., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69534)....