A federal judge says an attorney can talk about his status as an Indian and can mention his prior work as a federal prosecutor during jury selection for the trial of a Pueblo leader.

But Sam Winder, a member of the Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado, can't bring up his status or his past employment during the actual trial, the judge ruled.

Winder, who used to work in the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico, is representing Pojoaque Pueblo Lt. Gov Linda Diaz. She is accused of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and failing to render aid in connection with the hit and run death of a non-Indian man on the reservation.

Diaz's trial is due to start on February 16. The judge has yet to rule whether jurors can hear evidence that she was drinking before the incident last April.

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Race A Hot Issue in Trial (The Abuquerque Journal 2/12)