A sign at the court of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana. Photo by Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Naomi Schaefer Riley, the author of a forthcoming book titled The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians, has found a new target in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in US v. Bryant. She argues that victims of domestic violence in Indian Country suffer when their abusers are punished in tribal courts:
Oddly, this ruling has been hailed as a victory for tribal sovereignty because it allows Indian courts to continue to make their own rules of law and evidence, regardless of federal or state statutes. But actually it’s pretty shocking that Native Americans who are American citizens can be tried this way. As the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers pointed out in a letter warning the House of Representatives against expanding tribal powers, many tribes “do not make the code of laws publicly available” and “have no rules for discovery by the defendants of evidence against them.” And many tribes don’t provide defendants with a lawyer to represent them at trial. By continuing to allow these tribal courts to operate by a different set of rules, and even placing a federal stamp of approval on their rulings, the Supreme Court is making matters worse for Indian victims of violence (sexual and otherwise) and making the process less fair and transparent for Indian defendants. Justice Ginsburg is correct that the rates of domestic violence on reservations are deplorable. And it’s not just domestic. Native American women report being raped two-and-a-half times as often as the US average. The rate of child abuse among Native Americans is twice as high as the national average. What’s more, each of these problems is statistically worse when the results are restricted to Native Americans who live on reservations.Get the Story:
Naomi Schaefer Riley: How protecting tribal sovereignty hurts victims on reservations (The New York Post 7/10) U.S. Supreme Court Decision:
US v. Bryant (June 13, 2016) U.S. Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Docket Sheet No. 15-420: US v. Bryant | Question Presented 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Decisions:
US v Harlan (February 16, 2016)
US v. Cavanaugh (July 6, 2011) 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Decisions:
US v. Bryant (July 6, 2015)
US v. Bryant (September 30, 2014) 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
US v. Shavanaux (July 26, 2011)
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