By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
A federal appeals court rejected the idea that Native Americans may be more inclined to confess to crimes they did not commit based on “historical trauma” and cultural differences.
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling of an Arizona judge who said prosecutors could not use incriminating statements made by Calvert L. Woody, a Navajo Indian. The ruling, unless overturned, paves the way for Woody’s statements to the FBI to be used in court, where he faces charges of sexual conduct with a minor.
