United States v. Juvenile 1 (Lwq), United States of America v. Juvenile 2 (Wjd)
Opinion
Opinion
Thompson, J.
Juveniles # 1 and # 2 pleaded guilty to simple assault. The district court sentenced them to probation. One of the conditions of probation is that the juveniles not possess a firearm until they are 21 years old.
The juveniles are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. They contend it is a religious tenet of their tribe that participation by young men in tribal hunts, and killing game during a hunt, is a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. On these hunts, game is taken by the use of firearms.
Relying on Higdon v. United States, 627 F.2d 893, 898 (9th Cir.1980), the juveniles argue the condition of probation prohibiting them from possessing firearms is impermissible because it is a form of punishment and is not reasonably related to their rehabilitation or to the public’s protection. They also argue the condition unnecessarily restricts the free exercise of their religion.
Higdon was decided under the Federal Probation Act of 1925. The juveniles in this case were sentenced under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (the 1984 Act), which repealed the 1925 Act. See United States v. Corpuz, 953 F.2d 526, 528-29 (9th Cir.1992) (describing the changes…