The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in United States v. Bryant on Thursday, January 5, 2012.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. Petitioner appeals her conviction for theft by an officer or employee of a gaming establishment on Indian lands. Petitioner “played a $1 slot machine at the Choctaw Casino and Resort, an Indian gaming establishment. She won 90 cents and took the ticket to her sister, who worked as a cashier. Her sister, and later codefendant, paid [Petitioner] $4,000.91. They later split the proceeds. The casino noticed the missing $4,000 and saw the transaction as recorded by cameras.” Petitioner was sentenced to a two-year term of supervised probation and restitution of $4,000 was ordered. On appeal, she contends that no federal law was violated.
The Court disagreed. Petitioner “participated in a theft that involved an employee, and, as an aider and abetter, the law declares her a principal. If her sister had not been a cashier at the casino, matters would have stood differently. The district court properly asserted jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 1168.” Additionally, the crime against a gaming establishment licensed by the National Indian Gaming Association that sits on territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is a crime against the United States.
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