The Navajo Supreme Court has upheld former tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald's conviction on bribery and kickback charges.
MacDonald's appeals attorney, Ronald Yengich of Salt Lake City, had argued unsuccessfully that his client deserved a new trial on grounds that he was denied adequate legal counsel during his trial and that his fair-trial rights were violated.The prosecution argued that MacDonald had been represented adequately and that the trial judge worked hard to give MacDonald a fair trial.
The Navajo Supreme Court's decision Monday upholding the conviction says MacDonald was convicted by a jury of his peers under strict standards of fairness and equity of Navajo common law, as required by the Navajo Nation Bill of Rights.
The court said it reached its decision "with respect for leadership and the honor due a public figure" by considering both traditional Navajo views and tribal laws.
"The events which have culminated in this decision have tried us all, but the lesson it teaches is the Navajo Nation will survive as a government of law, nourished by the laws, values, morals and ideals of equality and sharing which have made Navajo society unique and valuable," the court's ruling said.
MacDonald was convicted in October 1990 on 41 counts of accepting bribes and kickbacks from people doing business with the tribe. He was sentenced to five years and 335 days in jail.
His son, Peter "Rocky" MacDonald Jr., was convicted of 23 counts of bribery, ethics and conspiracy charges and sentenced to 18 months in jail. His appeal has not been decided by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court's ruling Monday ordered that the elder MacDonald's jail sentence be imposed.
Both MacDonalds are on temporary release from the tribal jail in Window Rock. Their release order bars them from commenting to the news media.
MacDonald had been suspended from office in 1989 in the wake of testimony before the U.S. Senate accusing him of accepting kickbacks and of other wrongdoing. He was removed from the tribe's 1990 ballot for the newly created post of tribal president.
MacDonald's legal problems also include federal indictments accusing him of racketeering and of charges stemming from a 1990 riot in which two people were killed. And he, his son and a Phoenix businessman have been ordered to pay $41 million to the tribe in a civil racketeering case stemming from a land deal.
In a related development, Chief Justice Tom Tso retired Wednesday. He had told the Navajo Nation Council that job-related stress increased his chances of disability from diabetes.
The tribe's judiciary committee has forwarded the names of two candidates for chief justice to tribal President Peterson Zah. The candidates are Associate Justice Raymond Austin and Window Rock District Judge Robert Yazzie, who presided over the MacDonalds' trials.
Zah's appointment of a chief justice requires confirmation by the council. In the meantime, Associate Justice Home Bluehouse will serve as acting chief justice, said tribal spokesman Duane Beyal.