Tribal Law and Order Act – Page 6

Troy Eid on the Tribal Law and Order Act

August 4, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — After pressing for months, the chief criminal prosecutor for the Navajo Nation, Bernadine Martin, finally persuaded the U.S. Department of Justice to release its internal statistics on felony investigations. It turns out federal agents last year made just 28 arrests in sexual assault cases on an Indian reservation the size of West Virginia.

That’s an arrest rate in sexual assault cases of about 11 per 100,000 people. By comparison, Denver’s arrest rate in the same category in 2008 was 38 per 100,000. In other words, federal agents investigating sexual assaults on the Navajo Nation made less than one arrest for every three by Denver police.

This kind of unfairness prompted the Tribal Law and Order Act, sponsored by retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and signed by President Obama last week.

Despite the good intentions of many fine public servants, the federal government isn’t getting the job done. Violent crimes on Indian reservations are two and a half times the national average, yet tribal lands are served by half the number of police as comparable communities.

Continue reading →

White House Press Release on TLOA

July 22, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 21, 2010

Statement by the President on the Passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act

Today’s passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act is an important step to help the federal government better address the unique public safety challenges that confront tribal communities. The fact is, American Indians and Alaska Natives are victimized by violent crime at far higher rates than Americans as a whole. Native communities have seen increased gang and drug activity, with some tribes experiencing violent crime rates at more than ten times the national average. And one in three Native women will be the victim of rape in her lifetime.

The federal government’s relationship with tribal governments, its obligations under treaty and law, and our values as a nation require that we do more to improve public safety in tribal communities. And this Act will help us achieve that. It will strengthen the relationship between the federal government and tribal governments. It will improve our ability to work with tribal communities in the investigation and prosecution of crime, and it authorizes resources for tribes to fight crime more effectively. While many members helped pass this bill, I especially want to applaud Senators Dorgan, Barrasso and Kyl, and Representatives Herseth Sandlin, Kildee, Cole, Conyers, Scott, Rahall, Simpson and Pastor for their leadership on this issue. I look forward to signing the Act into law.

Tribal Law and Order Act Passes the House

July 21, 2010July 21, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher6 Comments

Yay! Here.

Tribal Law and Order Act on CSPAN Right Now

July 21, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here.

Letters of Support for Tribal Law and Order Act

July 21, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

ABA Letter

Bush U.S. Attorneys letter of Support for TLO

Tribal Law and Order Act Details

July 19, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher8 Comments

TRIBAL LAW AND ORDER ACT SUMMARY

Between 2007 and 2010, Congress held 17 hearings on various aspects of violence on Indian lands from domestic and sexual violence against women and children to drug smuggling and gang activity. On June 23, 2010, the Senate passed the Tribal Law and Order Act, as an amendment to H.R. 725, by unanimous consent.

Indian reservations nationwide face violent crime rates more than 2.5 times the national rate. Some reservations face more than 20 times the national rate of violence. More than 1 in 3 American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes, and 2 in 5 will face domestic or partner violence. The crisis is the result of a broken and underfunded system of justice.

Federal laws limit the authority of Indian tribes to punish Indian offenders to no more than 1-year imprisonment, and force reservation residents to rely on Federal (and in some cases State) officials to investigate and prosecute violent crimes on Indian lands. However, over the past 5 years, Federal officials have declined to prosecute 50% of alleged violent crimes in Indian country, including 75% of alleged sex crimes against women and children.

Less than 3,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal police patrol more than 56 million acres of Indian lands. Foreign drug cartels are aware of the lack of police presence on Indian lands and are targeting some reservations to distribute and manufacture drugs.

The Tribal Law and Order Act takes a comprehensive approach at addressing these shortfalls by establishing accountability measures for Federal agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting reservation crime, and by providing tribes with additional tools to combat crime locally.

Some major provisions include:

Evidence sharing and declination data: Requires federal prosecutors to maintain data on criminal declinations in Indian country, and to share evidence to support prosecutions in tribal court
Tribal Court sentencing: Increases tribal court authority from 1 to 3 years imprisonment where certain constitutional protections are met
Federal Testimony: Requires Federal officials who work in Indian country to testify about information gained in the scope of their duties to support a prosecution in tribal court
Improves transparency in Public Safety spending by the BIA, and requires greater consultation on the part of the BIA to tribal communities on matters affecting public safety and justice
Increased sexual assault training and standardized protocols for handling sex crimes, interviewing witnesses, and handling evidence of domestic and sexual violence crimes in Indian country
Authorizes Deputization of Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute reservation crimes in Federal courts, and encourages Federal Courts to hold cases in Indian country
Increases Deputizations of Tribal and State Police to Enforce Federal Law: Enhances Special Law Enforcement Commission program to deputize officers to enforce federal laws on Indian lands
Authorizes the Drug Enforcement Agency to deputize tribal police to assist on reservation drug raids
Increases recruitment and retention efforts for BIA and Tribal Police
Expands training opportunities for BIA and Tribal police to receive training at State police academies, and tribal, state, and local colleges – where Federal law enforcement training standards are met.
Tribal Police Access to Criminal History Records: Many tribal police have no access to criminal history records. The bill will provide tribal police greater access to criminal history databases that provide them with essential information when detaining or arresting a suspect.
Programmatic Reauthorizations: The bill will reauthorize and improve existing programs designed to strengthen tribal courts, police departments, and corrections centers – as well as programs to prevent and treat alcohol and substance abuse, and improve opportunities for at-risk Indian youth

The bill has the support of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Interior, the National Congress of American Indians, Amnesty International, the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Episcopal Church, the Family Violence Prevention Fund, and many other tribal, state, and local governments and organizations.

News Coverage of Senate Passage of Tribal Law and Order Act

June 25, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Denver Post (Michael Riley; link to 2007 articles in the Post on this question):

WASHINGTON — With spiraling crime rates battering Indian reservations across the West, the Senate on Wednesday passed legislation designed to plug gaping holes in the way crimes are investigated and prosecuted on Indian lands.

The legislation requires federal prosecutors to justify dropped cases to tribal leaders and allows tribal courts to impose sentences of up to three years, expanding authority that has been limited for more than 100 years.

It gives tribal police access to a key national crime database and allows felony crimes to be tried for the first time on the reservations where they occur.

“This will signify a dramatic change in the years ahead in the personal safety of a lot of American Indians who

have been abused, who have been victims of crime,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who chairs the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

The system for investigating and prosecuting crimes on Indian reservations is complex — even arcane, according to some critics.

Felony crime is the sole responsibility of federal prosecutors, often based in cities hundreds of miles away. Under a law passed in 1885, the authority of tribal courts is severely limited and they can impose sentences of no more than a year.

Tribal leaders for years have accused U.S. attorneys of doing their jobs poorly, often showing little interest in prosecuting the rapes, assaults or small-time drug peddling that devastate some tribal communities.

In 2009, federal prosecutors declined to prosecute nearly half of all Indian Country felony cases presented to them, while federal crime statistics show that some reservations have violent-crime rates that are 20 times the national average.

But there is also wide disagreement on fixing the problem.

Expanding the authority of tribal courts has long been considered controversial, because in many cases tribal prosecutors and even judges aren’t required to have law degrees. Tribal court decisions in many cases are not appealable to federal court.

The Tribal Law and Order Act approved Wednesday — it passed with unanimous consent, meaning there was no formal, recorded vote — attempts to address those concerns.

Only tribal courts that meet certain standards, including minimum training requirements and the guarantee of counsel for indigent defendants, will be granted the new authority.

For the first time, the legislation also requires the Justice Department to make public yearly statistics on the number of Indian Country cases declined by federal prosecutors — and each declination must be reported to tribal leaders.

The bill also makes it easier to deputize tribal police so that they can enforce federal laws, including giving them jurisdiction over non-Indians.

Continue reading →