A member of the Northern Cheyenne of Montana says the federal government can't prosecute him for a crime that the tribe already punished him for.

Steven Christopher Brady Sr. faces federal misdemeanor charges for an incident involving a non-Indian doctor. Brady and others tried to exclude Dr. Steven Bradley Sonntag from the reservation over a religious dispute.

Sonntag later went to tribal court and won a permanent injunction against Brady and others. But the U.S. Attorney's office said Brady is on the hook for simple assault and unlawful restraint in federal court.

Normally, an individual can't be punished twice for the same crime. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tribal members can be prosecuted in tribal court and federal court because tribes are separate sovereigns.

Get the Story:
Tribal, federal law collide in case (The Billings Gazette 9/20)

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