John Harte, Mapetsi Policy Group

Tribal Court funding – status of FY 2013 funding

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization – status of competing House and Senate bills

Issue = Oliphant gaps in crime, non-Native DV/SA, misdemeanors fall through cracks, violence escalates

Goal = ltd. Oliphant fix, clarify civil protection orders

Feb-June 2011 = DOJ consults with tribes Nov. 2011 = SCIA / SJC introduce bills Mar.-Apr. 2011 = SCIA / SJC advance bills,

Senate passes S. 1925 (Section 904, 905) May 2011 = House passes HR 4790, omits

jurisdictional provisions (Sec. 904, 905) Bill remains stalled

DOJ consultations resulted S. 1925 & SAVE Act Bills restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over all

reservation-based DV, including non-Indians who work or live on-reservation + relationship with the victim

Tribal courts must provide ICRA + TLOA enhanced sentencing protections + Non-Indians eligible to sit on jury “all other rights necessary under the U.S.

Constitution” Petition to stay (expedited habeas)

SCIA, SJC, HCJ, HNR – IANA Subcommittee Tribal leaders, tribal organizations DV/SA advocates Tribal justice officials = courts, LE, corrections Former U.S. Attorneys ABA, FBA ACLU NACDL, criminal defense lobby Heritage Foundation, Anti-sovereignty groups

Statistics Federal / State failures to address

Reservation domestic violence Combat crime locally Civil rights / criminal justice for

Native women Constitutional + Congressional

obligation

Unconstitutional Burden federal courts with habeas petitions Tribes are “racially defined institutions” Tribal courts inherently unfair

No “due process” No separation of powers Anti-tribal court anecdotes / “mass tribal

expulsions” Election-year politics Problem doesn’t exist = Statistics (SD AG study) Solution = expand PL 280 to all of Indian

country

Procedural problems = “blue slip” Todd Akin Election year politics November to December “lame duck”

session 113th Congress

Sept. 28th = 6-month CR (March 2013) BIA Tribal Courts (TPA) = $25M BIA Tribal Justice Support = $5M DOJ CTAS = $110M (TCAP, IASA (substance

abuse), justice centers, alternatives, juvenile justice)

DOJ – JAG = $630k Remaining 6 months in hands of 113th Congress DOJ Budgets = 7% tribal set-aside all BJA funding Sequestration = possible 8% + cut to all domestic

CONCLUSION

Federal and state control of reservation crimes has not worked for more than a century.

Tribal communities must fight to restore local control to tribal communities.

U.S. must fully fund tribal justice systems

Advocate for your justice systems