NCJ Number
189159
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 70 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 24-32
Date Published
2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article examines the judicial history of American Indian tribal sovereignty in the courts, reviews the major Federal legislation that affects criminal jurisdiction on tribal land, and discusses the impact of the Federal Constitution on the tribes.
Abstract
Indian tribal sovereignty has a significant impact on criminal jurisdiction and procedure both in and out of Indian country due to the three distinct sovereigns: State, Federal, and tribal interacting with one another in what is best described as a patchwork of criminal jurisdiction. Each sovereign has exclusive, partial, or no jurisdiction, depending on the offense location, the crime, and the ethnicity of the persons involved. Issues include whether the crime is a misdemeanor or a felony, whether a Federal law such as Public Law 280 confers exclusive criminal jurisdiction to a State, whether a tribal code provision exists regarding extradition or State warrant execution, and whether something has occurred related to Constitutional rights of the accused. The difficulty of determining criminal jurisdiction and procedure in Indian country requires individual assessment of each situation. Footnotes and author photograph