United States v. Samuel Longee, United States of America v. James Edward Chaser

The defendants appeal from judgments of conviction for voluntary manslaughter, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1112 and 1153, after a trial to the court, a jury having been waived, following the death of David Marcus Fast Horse by a gunshot wound in the head in the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, on April 26, 1978.

The factual background established by the record is substantially what follows. On April 25, 1978, the defendants Chaser and Longee, accompanied by Coleen Devereau, aged 16, James Shy Face, and Lawrence Fast Horse, were having a party at which alcohol was consumed at the home of Helen Walker on the reservation. The convivial drinking had begun earlier in the evening in two bars and continued with the consumption of beer and vodka at the Walker home. Helen Walker is the mother of Longee, Chaser, and Lawrence Fast Horse, who are half-brothers. The deceased, David Marcus Fast Horse, was Chaser’s first cousin. During the evening, he had joined the party, accompanied by Tony Lee Jones.

In the early morning of April 26, a dispute arose between Longee and the deceased, who went out to his car with Coleen Devereau. Chaser, carrying a .30-.30 rifle, and Longee, with a…