In Chippewa v. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Fort Hall Indian Reservation (D. Idaho), the court held that it has no jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus to a tribal court — Chippewa DCT Order
An excerpt:
Lara, Wheeler, and Enas clearly illustrate that tribal courts and courts of the United States each have separate jurisdiction to prosecute offenses against their respective sovereigns. A federal court does not have jurisdiction over a tribal court prosecution. Furthermore, a tribal court is not an inferior court to the federal court. Therefore, the Court cannot issue a writ of mandamus directing the Tribal Court to either act on Chippewa’s motions or run three Tribal sentences concurrently with the now expired federal sentence.
Although the Court has not located any cases specifically holding that a federal court cannot issue a writ of mandamus to a Tribal Court, it is clear by analogy to cases addressing the issue in the context of state courts that it cannot. See, e.g., Craigo v. Hey, 624 F.Supp. 414, 416 (S.D.W.Va. 1985) (declining to issue a writ of mandamus finding that the Court had no original jurisdiction over a matter filed in state court and because it did not sit “as an appellate or supervisory tribunal” for the state court). See also Harris v. Department of Corrections, 426 F.Supp. 350 (D.C.Okl. 1977) (same; federal district courts do not sit to review actions taken in state court and do not have jurisdiction to compel a state or its officers to perform any duty owned to a plaintiff under state law). Accordingly, Chippewa’s Petition shall be dismissed.
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