The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to throw out the guilty plea of the former chairman of the Crow Tribe of Montana.

Clifford G. Bird in Ground admitted taking bribes in a scheme to buy vehicles for tribal members. But he later challenged the plea on the grounds that he didn't understand what he was doing.

Bird in Ground's lawyer claimed he couldn't understand English and that a Crow interpreter was not present at hearings. But the 9th Circuit ruled that he knowingly and intelligently pleaded guilty.

Get the Story:
Court OKs Birdinground confession (The Billings Gazette 8/26)

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