NCJ Number
168151
Date Published
1996
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This chapter describes the process of decisionmaking in Navajo Tribal Courts.
Abstract
Before 1868 the Navajos settled disputes by mediation. Today the Navajo courts are structured very much like those in the State and Federal courts. They have seven judicial districts. The district courts are courts of general civil jurisdiction and of limited criminal jurisdiction. The second tier of the Navajo court system is the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, composed of three justices. The Supreme Court hears appeals from final lower court decisions and from certain final administrative orders. The tribal government is rapidly developing an extensive network of administrative bodies with quasi-judicial functions. The law the Navajo courts use consists of any applicable Federal laws and tribal laws and customs. All parties may represent themselves in the courts. If a party chooses to be represented by counsel, a member of the Navajo Nation Bar Association must be chosen. Once a court makes a decision, that decision is subject to change only through judicial processes. No other part of the tribal government has the authority to overrule that decision. Navajo custom and tradition are unlikely to call for law entirely different from that expected in Anglo courts. They are more likely to supply additional factors to consider in an already familiar context; for example, Navajos view themselves as so related to the earth and the sky that they cannot be separated from them without harm. The protection and defense of both must be preserved. On the other hand, the dominant society views things in terms of separateness, of compartmentalization. For this reason, the Navajo Nation is best able to make the laws and decisions regarding its own preservation and development.