⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit hears James Kirby King's appeal from a federal criminal case in Montana. The prosecution involved allegations of sexual abuse and child exploitation on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and elsewhere in Montana. King was convicted after a bench trial, meaning a trial before a judge rather than a jury. Before trial, the district court rejected his claim that tribal sovereignty prevented federal prosecutors from bringing the first twenty counts. King will argue that tribal sovereignty requires giving the tribal justice system the first opportunity to prosecute. The government will defend federal jurisdiction under the Major Crimes Act and other federal criminal laws. The Major Crimes Act authorizes federal prosecution of specified serious crimes by Native Americans in Indian country. The Supreme Court upheld that authority in Kagama, so the discussion also concerns what a lower court can do with binding Supreme Court precedent. Rule thirty-three allows a new trial if the interest of justice requires it. Section twenty-two fifty-five offers a separate challenge to an unlawful federal conviction or sentence, including claims of constitutionally ineffective counsel.

USA v. King (No. 25-5972) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 15, 2026.