Judge upholds acquittal of Chris Cherry

By Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff writer

Tribal Court Chief Judge Patrick Melendy has upheld an original ruling acquitting former Spirit Mountain Casino Marketing Manager Chris Cherry of violating the Tribe’s Public Safety Ordinance.

In November 2025, a Tribal Appeals Court panel reversed and remanded Melendy’s March 2025 decision back to the lower court, directing it to either dismiss or affirm the citation against Cherry, setting out its reasoning in a written opinion.

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, Melendy upheld his original ruling acquitting Cherry.

Cherry had been cited in August 2024 for violating the Tribal Public Safety Ordinance, by committing a campaign violation. He was accused of using his work computer to print campaign signs for his wife Michael Cherry’s re-election campaign, following a complaint to the Tribal Police. In the wake of that civil citation, Chris Cherry was dismissed from his job at the casino. Michael Cherry lost her re-election bid.

The case went to trial in March 2025. Melendy found that the Tribe had not met its burden of proof and acquitted Cherry. The Tribe appealed the ruling, resulting in the directive from the appeals court to Melendy to spell out his reasoning.

Melendy wrote in his new ruling that he still finds the evidence in Cherry’s favor.

He noted that the court found the testimony presented by Cherry, investigating Tribal Police Officer Tokata Tehama and Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight to be credible. However, he wrote, he did not believe the matter rose to the level of violating the ordinance.

“The crux of the allegation was that Cherry had used his work computer and a work printer to print campaign signs … The Tribe argued that this was a violation of the Public Safety Ordinance because Cherry used Tribal resources to solicit or distribute campaign materials or petitions as prohibited in the Public Safety Ordinance,” Melendy wrote.

He noted that, “The evidence and testimony presented by both the Tribe and Cherry were largely undisputed.”  However, “Cherry did not print actual banners or signs for his wife’s Tribal campaign. … the evidence was that the Tribe’s own printers were not capable of printing banners as used by Michael Cherry during her campaign. The credible evidence was that Cherry did print three ‘test pages’ on normal printer paper for the graphic to be used for his wife’s campaign. Cherry testified that he did this to ‘troubleshoot issues’ with the graphic design of the poster/banner.”

Melendy noted that the software used to track Cherry’s work on the computer showed that “Cherry accessed these files on July 13, 2024, between 9:21:55 a.m. and 9:27:36 a.m. for approximately five minutes and forty-one seconds.”

Melendy continued, “It is undisputed that Cherry did not ‘distribute’ campaign materials or petitions in violation of the ordinance, the focus is whether or not he ‘solicited’ campaign materials … using Tribal resources” by emailing a vendor from his private email account while using his work computer.

Melendy found that he did not.

“If the court were to apply the ordinance as argued by the Tribe, then anyone who accesses the Tribal Wi-Fi resources on their own personal cell phone and then were to text someone to request the designing of a Tribal campaign sign would be guilty of violating this ordinance,” Melendy wrote.

He noted that, “The ordinance in the findings and purpose section gives the court guidance in this case. The court finds that Cherry’s use of Tribal resources was so de minimis in this case and because there was no evidence that this limited use of resources interfered with his ‘work performance or productivity … during normal business hours,’ the court cannot find this to have violated the ordinance as intended by the Tribal ordinance.”

“De minimis” is a legal term meaning a matter is too trivial for the law to address.

The Tribal Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. Tribal Communications Director Sara Thompson said the Tribe “has nothing to add at this time.”

Cherry said, “I appreciate the Tribal Court for remaining objective and once again reaffirming its not guilty ruling. As a lifelong community member with many Tribal family members and friends, I continue to wish for the ongoing success of the casino and the Tribe in all its endeavors.”

However, he wrote in his email, “The circumstances surrounding this case remain deeply troubling. What began with an anonymous online smear campaign was followed by a Tribal Council member reporting the allegation to police, unprecedented publicity surrounding a $50 citation and a rushed employment decision citing ‘breaking Tribal law’ and that ‘It makes the casino look bad.’ Those actions created lasting harm well beyond the courtroom.”

Cherry continued, “I would like to think we can move past what felt like back-alley bully tactics and instead focus on shared values such as community well-being and strengthening relationships. It was therefore especially disheartening that five council members chose to pursue an appeal despite the trial court’s clear ruling. After 28 years of dedicated service to the Tribe and the casino, it has been deeply distressing to have my reputation publicly and repeatedly challenged over a matter the courts have now twice ruled in my favor.”

Michael Cherry also expressed her gratitude for the ruling as well as her frustration.

“I thank the Creator for justice once again in my husband Chris Cherry’s case, following an unnecessary appeal filed nearly a year ago by five Tribal Council members against his original win,” she wrote in an email. “I no longer refer to this as something done by ‘the Tribe,’ as these actions were taken by five individuals who do not represent the voice of the full council or the Tribe as a whole. Notably, the initial police report was filed by one of these council members, while two others were actively seeking reelection at the same time as me, presenting, in my humble opinion, a clear conflict of interest.”

She continued, “I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Leaders entrusted with governing a Tribal nation should be focused more on protecting Tribal sovereignty and strengthening the community, not expending time, money, energy and resources targeting Tribal families for political purposes. My family and I have taken the high road and chosen forgiveness, and now we pray for humility in our leadership and the wisdom to focus on what truly matters.”