United States v. Clifford Bird, Sr., United States of America v. Wesley Lane Crawford

Clifford Bird Sr. and Wesley Lane Crawford (collectively “Appellants”), each of whom is an Indian, were indicted for committing the crime of burglary in violation of the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153 . Appellants appeal from the district court’s denial of their pretrial motions to dismiss the indictments. They contend that the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the Government failed to allege an essential element of § 1153, namely, that the victim is an Indian. The Government requests that we dismiss this interlocutory appeal because a final judgment has not been entered.

We dismiss this interlocutory appeal without reaching the merits of Appellants’ claim because we lack jurisdiction to determine whether the indictment alleges sufficient facts to state an offense until a final judgment has been entered after trial. We also reject their request to treat this appeal as an application for a writ of mandamus.

I

On April 18, 2002, a United States grand jury indicted Mr. Bird for burglary in violation of § 1153, and Mont.Code Ann. § 45-6-204(1). On July 10, 2002, a grand jury indicted Mr. Crawford for burglary in violation of the-same codes. The…