Testimony began on Tuesday in the retrial of a Miccosukee man accusing of murdering his two young sons.

Prosecutors read the transcript from the first trial, in which Kirk Billie was found guilty of second-degree murder. But the jury can't hear about Billie's criminal past, an appeals court ruled.

Billie admits driving an SUV carrying his sons, ages 3 and 5, into a canal. But he says he was unaware they were sleeping in the back seat of the car.

The incident took place off the reservation but state investigators tried to go on tribal lands to interview witnesses and seek evidence. The tribe refused to allow state law enforcement onto the reservation.

The tribe has since agreed to cooperate with state law enforcement, a concession that could help the tribe win passage of a bill to retrocede state jurisdiction on tribal lands. Florida is a Public Law 280 state.

Get the Story:
Retrial begins in drowning of 2 children (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 1/19)
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Court Decision:
Billie v. State (July 30, 2003)

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Miccosukee man on trial again for murder of sons (1/13)
Miccosukee man faces retrial for sons' deaths (09/06)
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Miccosukee man's murder hearing closed to public (04/21)
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