Alvin Settler v. Yakima Tribal Court

Alvin Settler seeks review of a decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Appellant based his petition on the authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (1964). The jurisdiction of this court on appeal is grounded on 28 U.S.C. § 1294 (1964). Appellee’s motion to dismiss this appeal has been quashed.

This case involves the important question of whether, in a case arising before the effective date of the Indian Civil Rights Bill of 1968, 25 U.S.C.A. § 1301 et seq. (Supp.1969), a federal district court has jurisdiction to hear a petition for a writ of habeas corpus from one convicted by a Yakima Indian Tribal Court.

Appellant, an American Citizen and a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation, was convicted on September 29, 1967 by the Yakima Tribal Court of twice violating off-reservation Indian Tribal Fishing Regulations (causes #11316 and 11358) and once disobeying the lawful orders of the Indian Tribal Court relating to off-reservation fishing regulations (cause #11336). He was sentenced as follows: (#11316) $80.00 plus $2.50 court costs or a thirty-day…