United States v. Denetclaw

96 F.3d 454, 45 Fed. R. Serv. 605, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 23192, 1996 WL 498625
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedSeptember 4, 1996
Docket95-2222
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 96 F.3d 454 (United States v. Denetclaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Denetclaw, 96 F.3d 454, 45 Fed. R. Serv. 605, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 23192, 1996 WL 498625 (10th Cir. 1996).

Opinions

PAUL KELLY, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Kennedy Denetclaw was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(c) and 1153; assault resulting in serious bodily injury, 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(f) and 1153; and maiming, 18 U.S.C. §§ 114 and 1153, and sentenced to sixty-three months imprisonment. Mr. Den-etclaw alleges that the district court improperly admitted impeachment evidence against him and improperly enhanced his sentence. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

Background

On November 22, 1994, Kennedy Denet-claw, 34, a member of the Navajo Indian Tribe, appeared in the Navajo Nation tribal court and pled guilty1 to the tribal misdemeanor offense of aggravated battery on both Mike Hernandez and Leyandrew Joe. On December 8, 1994, a federal grand jury indicted Kennedy Denetclaw on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (Hernandez and Joe), one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury (Hernandez), and one count of maiming (Hernandez), all arising from the same incidents that were the subject of his tribal court convictions.

A jury trial was held in federal court, and the trial testimony revealed the following facts: On April 28, 1994, Travis Dez, 15, Daleric Dez, 15, and Roderick Joe, 14, were playing near the Denetclaw home. 3 R. at 34-35, 56-57, 82. William Denetclaw, Kennedy Denetclaw1 s 25-year-old brother, came outside and shouted at the boys. 3 R. at 58, 84. The boys ran away, but William began chasing Travis, who ran toward the Yazzie home. 3 R. at 35-36, 59, 229. William caught Travis and began kicking him. 3 R. at 37. Darrell Yazzie, 23, managed to stop William’s attack on Travis, but when Kennedy Denetclaw arrived the attack resumed. 3 R. at 36-37, 47, 51-52. Darrell testified that Kennedy attacked him from behind with a knife, but he managed to escape serious injury. 3 R. at 47-48.

Mike Hernandez, 23, and Leyandrew Joe, 19, were playing Nintendo when a neighbor boy informed them that Travis was being attacked. Leyandrew and Mike went out, unarmed, to investigate, later joined by Roderick. 3 R. at 85, 100. Leyandrew observed William kicking Travis with Kennedy watching. 3 R. at 99. Mike could not see the attack on Travis because he is legally blind. 3 R. at 126-28. Upon seeing Mike and Leyandrew approach, William left Travis and ran up to them. 3 R. at 100. William attacked Mike, and Kennedy attacked Ley-andrew, cutting him on the chin. 3 R. at 88, 102. Leyandrew and Roderick fled, and the Denetelaws turned their full attention to Mike. 3 R. at 50, 62, 105. Kennedy repeatedly cut Mike with his knife, causing five cuts to his face requiring 30-40 stitches. 3 R. at 132,134L35,138.

Kennedy Denetclaw testified that he and William had been drinking alcohol on their way home that day. 3 R. at 223-24. He and his brother saw the boys outside, and William went out to talk to them. Kennedy claimed that he watched William take Travis down, and that he went out to help his brother after seeing Darrell Yazzie come out [457]*457of his house and strike William with an object. 3 R. at 229. Kennedy claimed that he calmed his brother down, and they walked away. 8 R. at 230. As they were leaving, they noticed the three men approaching, and a scuffle broke out. 3 R. at 231-32. Kennedy testified that Mike Hernandez was armed •with a knife and that he pulled out his “pocketknife” to protect William from Mike. 3 R. at 232. He admitted that he cut Michael’s hand during the struggle but claimed that he then lost his knife. 3 R. at 232-33; 4 R. at 253. He testified that he did not cut Leyan-drew Joe and did not know how he got injured, 3 R. at 233; 4 R. at 257, and he speculated that Mike’s facial wounds may have been self-inflicted, 4 R. at 255.

The jury convicted Kennedy Denetclaw of two counts of assault on Hernandez and one count of maiming but acquitted him of assaulting Joe. The district court imposed a two-level increase to the offense level for obstruction of justice pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 and sentenced Mr. Denetclaw to a total of sixty-three months imprisonment. This appeal followed.

Discussion

I. Tribal Court Pleas

Mr. Denetclaw contends that the trial court erred in allowing the tribal court pleas to be admitted as impeachment evidence. A trial court’s decision to admit or exclude evidence is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Harmon, 918 F.2d 115, 117 (10th Cir.1990). The issue of whether tribal court pleas may be admitted in federal court is a question of law which we review de novo. United States v. Ant, 882 F.2d 1389, 1395-96 (9th Cir.1989).

The trial court permitted the prosecution to impeach Mr. Denetclaw with the tribal court pleas under the rationale of Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 91 S.Ct. 643, 28 L.Ed.2d 1 (1971). 4 R. at 246. In Harris, the Supreme Court held that statements elicited in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), may be admitted to impeach the credibility of a defendant who testifies on his own behalf, even if such statements are not admissible in the prosecution’s case-in-chief. Harris, 401 U.S. at 224-26, 91 S.Ct. at 645-46. The Court stated, “Every criminal defendant is privileged to testify in his own defense, or to refuse to do so. But that privilege cannot be construed to include the right to commit perjury.” Id. at 225, 91 S.Ct. at 645.

Mr. Denetclaw challenges the trustworthiness of his tribal convictions, pointing to the lack of constitutional protections in tribal court, specifically the right to counsel. He claims that he did not realize that his tribal pleas could be used against him in federal court. 4 R. at 264; Aplt. Br. at 22-23. However, this is beside the point. Even assuming that Mr. Denetclaw was not afforded a Sixth Amendment right to counsel at his tribal court hearing, his tribal court pleas still remain admissible for the purpose of impeachment. Michigan v. Harvey, 494 U.S. 344, 345-46, 110 S.Ct. 1176, 1177-78, 108 L.Ed.2d 293 (1990). In Harvey, the Supreme Court held that a statement taken in violation of the right to counsel could be used to “impeach a defendant’s false or inconsistent testimony.” Id. at 346, 110 S.Ct. at 1178.

The fact that Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ramsey v. United States
E.D. Missouri, 2020
United States v. Chavarin
Tenth Circuit, 2020
Banks v. Berge
D. Oregon, 2019
State v. Ballew
291 Neb. 577 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2015)
State v. Corey Steven Kubat
350 P.3d 1038 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2015)
State v. Conway
108 Ohio St. 3d 214 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2006)
United States v. Boctot
139 F. App'x 815 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Longley
75 F. App'x 723 (Tenth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. White
68 F. App'x 870 (Tenth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Haber
251 F.3d 881 (Tenth Circuit, 2001)
Oliver C. Udemba v. Paul Nicoli
237 F.3d 8 (First Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Cobia
53 M.J. 305 (Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 2000)
United States v. Arvizu
Tenth Circuit, 2000
Kennedy Denetclaw v. United States
166 F.3d 346 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Martin
974 F. Supp. 677 (C.D. Illinois, 1997)
United States v. Felix Rodriquez Aguirre
113 F.3d 1247 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Aguirre
Tenth Circuit, 1997
United States v. Denetclaw
96 F.3d 454 (Tenth Circuit, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
96 F.3d 454, 45 Fed. R. Serv. 605, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 23192, 1996 WL 498625, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-denetclaw-ca10-1996.