Sec. 102. Sense of Congress
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It is the sense of Congress that— Congress should provide more resources for public safety and other programs of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs that make American Indian and Alaska Native communities safer; Congress should provide more resources for Tribal law enforcement agencies, Tribal courts, and Tribal detention centers to ensure Tribal sovereignty over public safety programs in Indian country and Alaska Native Villages; Indian tribes have the inherent sovereign authority to exercise full criminal jurisdiction over persons— within the sovereign territory of the Indian tribe; and who commit a violation of Tribal criminal law; the Supreme Court of the United States, in Oliphant v.
Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191 (1978), violated the inherent sovereign authority of Indian tribes by wrongly limiting tribal criminal jurisdiction and removing Tribal authority to prosecute non-Indians unless authorized by Congress; the limitation by the Supreme Court of the United States of inherent Tribal jurisdiction has effectively granted non-Indians immunity for crimes committed in Indian country and Alaska Native Villages, leading to violence and criminal activity by non-Indians and preventing Indian tribes from taking recourse; the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( Public Law 113–4 ; 127 Stat. 54) recognized and affirmed the inherent criminal jurisdiction of Indian tribes over non-Indians who commit crimes of domestic violence against Indians in Indian country; the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 ( Public Law 117–103 ; 136 Stat. 840) recognized and affirmed the inherent criminal jurisdiction of Indian tribes over non-Indians who commit crimes of assaults on Tribal justice personnel, child violence, obstruction of justice, sexual violence, sex trafficking, and stalking; the jurisdiction of Indian tribes over the crimes described in paragraphs
(6)and
(7)is known as special Tribal criminal jurisdiction ; the exercise of special Tribal criminal jurisdiction has allowed many Indian tribes to begin to address the crisis of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women by holding offenders accountable and pursuing justice for victims; the Indian tribes that have chosen to implement special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( Public Law 113–4 ; 127 Stat. 54) have successfully upheld the rights of defendants under that Act and complied with the requirements of that Act, including due process protections, but this partial restoration of Tribal jurisdiction has proven insufficient to address the range of serious crimes committed by non-Indians in Indian country and Alaska Native Villages and in violation of Tribal criminal law, and as a result, a large number of violent crimes committed against Native victims go unprosecuted; and Congress has a trust duty and responsibility, stemming from both the treaties signed with Indian tribes and the Constitution of the United States, to fund and support strong Tribal governments, which necessarily includes the funding of Tribal courts, Tribal law enforcement, and victim services.
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- 435 U.S. 191
- 127 Stat. 54
- 136 Stat. 840
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Sec. 102
Sense of Congress
SCOTUS435 U.S. 191
Stat.127 Stat. 54
Stat.136 Stat. 840
Cites 5Cited by 0 across 0 sources