Native American Tribal Courts
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There is great variety in Native American Tribal Courts. Approximately 275 of the indigenous American peoples have established formal court systems. The structure varies widely from court to court, with some embracing a Western-style method with written laws and rules of court procedure, and others using more traditional means such as peacemaking, elders' councils and sentencing circles.[1]
There are approximately 400 tribal justice systems throughout the United States.[2]
Jurisdiction
The tribal courts rule on civil and criminal violations of tribal ordinance.
Tribal courts are courts of general jurisdiction with broad criminal jurisdiction. Generally, states have no jurisdiction over the activities of Indians and tribes in Indian country.[3] In 1953, Public Law 280 (PL 280) created an exception to this rule in six states.[4] The U.S. Congress authorized these states to have criminal jurisdiction over all offenses involving Native Americans on tribal lands and transferred the federal government’s criminal jurisdiction over Indian country to the six states. Congress also authorized state courts with jurisdiction in civil cases that were previously exclusively under the jurisdiction of tribal or federal courts. As a result, state and tribal courts share jurisdiction in certain areas.[5][6]
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Tribal Court Clearinghouse
- Tribal Court Clearinghouse, "Tribal Court Directory"
- Tribal Court Clearinghouse, "Tribal Court Decisions"
- National Indian Law Library
- National American Indian Court Judges Association
- National Center for State Courts, "Tribal Courts Resource Guide"
- National Tribal Justice Resource Center
- American Bar Association Tribal Courts Council
- American Indian Law Review
- United States Bureau of Indian Affairs
- United States Department of Justice: Office of Tribal Justice
Footnotes
- ↑ National Tribal Justice Resource Center:Tribal Court History
- ↑ United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, "Tribal Court Systems," accessed March 18, 2021
- ↑ Legal Information Institute, "18 U.S. Code § 1151.Indian country defined," accessed March 22, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Department of Justice, "Frequently Asked Questions about Public Law 83-280," accessed March 18, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Tribal Courts Resource Guide," accessed March 18, 2021
- ↑ Tribal Court Clearinghouse: a Project of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute, "Public Law 280," accessed March 18, 2021
