State Bar of Wisconsin

Courts, Kids & Contracts: A Primer for Practicing Indian Law in Wisconsin

Basic Principles of Tribal Jurisdiction

by Alysia LaCounte
Brown & LaCounte, L.L.P.

I. Indian Country Defined. 18 U.S.C. §1151

Robert N. Clinton, Criminal Jurisdiction Over Indian Lands: A Journey Through a Jurisdictional Maze, 18 Ariz.L.Rev. 503 (1976)

A. DeCoteau v. District County Court, 420 U.S. 425 (1975)

B. Solem v. Bartlett, 465 U.S. 463 (1984)

C. Dependent Indian Community

II. "Public Law 280" - A Transfer of Jurisdiction to Some States

A. Carole E. Goldberg, Public Law 280: The Limits of State Jurisdiction Over Reservation Indians, 22 U.C.L.A. L.Rev. 535 (1975)

B. Bryan v. Itasca County, 426 U.S. 373 (1976)

III. Tribal Justice Systems, the Indian Civil Rights Act, and Federal Judicial Review

A. Tribal Governments and Tribal Justice Systems

B. Frank Pommersheim, The Contextual Legitimacy of Adjudication in Tribal Courts and the Role of the Tribal Bar as an Interpretive Community: An Essay, 18 New Mexico L.Rev. 49 (1988)

C. The Indian Civil Rights Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1301 et. seq.

D. Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, 436 U.S. 49 (1978)

E. Federal Review of the Administration of Justice in Indian Country

1. National Farmers Union Insurance Companies v. Crow Tribe of Indians, 471 U.S. 845 (1985)

2. William Strate v. A-1 Contractors and Lyle Stockert, 520 U.S. ___ 137 L Ed 2d 661 (1997)

III. Tribal Law in Tribal Courts

A. Tom Tso, The Process of Decision Making in Tribal Courts, 31 Ariz.L.Rev. 225 (1989)

B. "The Navajo Concept of Justice," Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation, 1988 Annual Report

C. In re Certified Question II: Navajo Nation v. MacDonald, 16 Indian L.Rep. 6086 (1989)

D. In re: Validation of Marriage of Francisco, 16 Indian L.Rep. 6113 (1989)

E. Begay v. Keedah, 19 Indian L.Rep. 6021 (1991)

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