Lawyers on both sides have made their arguments and are awaiting a ruling by Judge Anthony Eppolito. There is no deadline for Eppolito's decision.
Clint Hill, a member of the Oneida Indian Nation Men's Council, was tried in tribal court in August on charges he harassed two Oneida Indian women and indirectly knocked one to the ground. The incident happened July 7 on nation land on Territory Road in Oneida.
When the women refused to appear as witnesses, the tribal court judge acquitted Hill of assault and harassment. A third charge, disorderly conduct, will be dismissed in February if Hill does not violate any nation laws. Hill is being charged with one count of harassment in city court.
Hill's lawyers argue that trying him again in city court would amount to double jeopardy, which is forbidden by the U.S. Constitution.
But the Madison County District Attorney's Office said defendants can be tried in two separate courts. Melissa Stearns, chief assistant district attorney, also argued in court papers that Hill's trial in tribal court was so flawed that he was never in jeopardy of being convicted there.
Stearns wrote that two of the six jurors were related to Hill, that the victims and Madison County Undersheriff Doug Bailey refused to testify, and that the nation's government had for several years sent negative mailings about the victims to tribal members, who constitute the jury pool.
Hill's lawyers disagreed.
"Mr. Hill's trial, in Oneida Indian Nation tribal court, was a fair criminal proceeding and under a penal code that is nearly identical to New York penal law," wrote one of Hill's lawyers, Robert Anello. Anello said the incident should be tried only in tribal court because it involved Oneidas and occurred on tribal land.
© 2002 The Post-Standard.
See Earlier Report Clint Hill