United States v. Ronald Keiser, Jr.

Ronald Reiser shot Victor Romero, paralyzing him from the waist down. The shooting occurred inside the boundaries of Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. Reiser was indicted and convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 113 (f) (assault resulting in serious bodily injury). He is currently serving a prison term of 71 months. He raises on appeal two claims regarding his conviction: (1) that the district court’s instruction on self-defense and defense of another was not appropriate under the facts of this case; and (2) that the district court improperly excluded testimony regarding an incident outside the courtroom at trial that would have revealed the victim’s violent character. He does not challenge his sentence.

The district court had jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1158 (a) (offenses committed within Indian country). The appellant timely filed his notice of appeal, vesting this Court with jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I.

The regrettable events giving rise to this prosecution occurred early in the morning of December 19, 1992, in Wolf Point, Montana. A group of people gathered at a home across the street from the home of the defendant, Ronald Reiser. The…