 Alexander F. Reichert was appointed by the Supreme Court to argue the case for Lara . Reichert argued that an Indian tribe had no inherent sovereignty in regards to non @-@ member Indians , but only the power that Congress decided to give the tribe , citing Duro , Wheeler , and Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe to support his argument . He stated that it was the place of the Supreme Court , not Congress , to determine the inherent sovereignty of the tribe . Lara argued that since the tribe had no such inherent sovereignty , it could only prosecute a non @-@ member Indian based upon federal sovereignty , which would make a subsequent Federal prosecution a violation of the prohibition of double jeopardy . It was noted that members of Indian tribes were at the same time United States citizens , and protected under the constitution in the same manner as any other citizen . Reichert stated that Duro was decided as a constitutional issue , not as a matter of common law , and it was the Court 's place to determine the issue , not the place of Congress . To subject Lara to a prosecution by a tribal court , which was not subject to the Bill of Rights , would deprive Lara of his rights as a United States citizen . Lara 's position was supported by amicus curiae briefs filed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers , Lewis County , Idaho , ( along with several other counties ) , the Citizen 's Equal Rights Foundation , and T. Morris , E. Morris , and R. Morris ( individual Indians ) . 
