[YouTube: Sen. Grassley doesn't think Native Americans can hold fair trials]

The highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee doesn't think non-Indians will get a fair trial in the tribal court system.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was one of 22 Republicans who voted against S.47, a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. He explained his reasoning at a meeting with constituents in Iowa.

"[U]nder the laws of our land, you got to have a jury that is a reflection of society as a whole, and on an Indian reservation, it’s going to be made up of Indians, right? So the non-Indian doesn’t get a fair trial," Grassley said, according to a video posted by ThinkProgress, a liberal leaning site.

The tribal provisions of S.47 require non-Indian defendants to have ties to a tribal community and its members The bill also extends the protections of the U.S. Constitution to non-Indians.

Get the Story:
Top GOP Senator: Native American Juries Are Incapable Of Trying White People Fairly (ThinkProgress 2/21)
Chuck Grassley On VAWA: Tribal Provision Means 'The Non-Indian Doesn't Get A Fair Trial' (The Huffington Post 2/21)

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