cross-deputization

Cross-Commissioning and the Navajo Nation

Adrea Korthase3 Comments

The following is an excerpt of the side bar to an article by The Daily Times:

FARMINGTON — Nine counties in three states encompassing Navajo land are considering agreements with the tribe to allow police officers on both sides to enforce laws. The agreements are expected to eliminate sanctuaries from the law and increase arrests and convictions.

San Juan County, N.M., is the only county that will not cross-commission deputies with the tribe, though Sheriff Ken Christesen has signaled a willingness to certify his deputies with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to enforce federal laws.

One county already has a cross-commissioning agreement in place, two have signed mutual aid agreements and the five remaining counties are considering their options.

ILPC Cross Deputization Occasional Paper

Kate Fort

We’ve posted a new Occasional Paper on our Occasional Paper website.  The paper, Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country: The Solution of Cross Deputization, was primarily written by second and third year law students in our Indigenous Law and Policy Center class.  They researched and analyzed both issues of criminal jurisdiction and cross deputization agreements with a focus on Michigan and Michigan tribes.