I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1268

To assist the development of tribal judicial systems, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 1993

Mr. RICHARDSON (for himself and Ms. ENGLISH of Arizona) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To assist the development of tribal judicial systems, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Tribal Justice

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds and declares that—

8 (1) there is a government-to-government rela9 tionship between the United States and each Indian

10 tribe;
2

•HR 1268 IH

1 (2) Congress, through statutes, treaties, and

2 the exercise of administrative authorities, has recog3 nized the self-determination, self-reliance, and inher4 ent sovereignty of Indian tribes;

5 (3) Indian tribes possess the inherent authority

6 to establish their own form of government, including

7 tribal justice systems;

8 (4) tribal justice systems are essential to self9 government and integral to the fulfillment of the

10 Federal Government’s policy of self-determination;

11 (5) tribal justice systems are inadequately fund12 ed and the lack of adequate funding impairs their

13 ability to administer justice effectively; and

14 (6) tribal government involvement in and com15 mitment to improving tribal justice systems is essen16 tial to the accomplishment of the goals of this Act.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 For purposes of this Act:

19 (1) The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of

20 Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

21 (2) The term ‘‘Courts of Indian Offenses’’

22 means the courts established pursuant to part 11 of

23 title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.

24 (3) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

25 tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group
3

•HR 1268 IH

1 or community, including any Alaska Native entity,

2 which administers justice under its inherent author3 ity or the authority of the United States and which

4 is recognized as eligible for the special programs and

5 services provided by the United States to Indian

6 tribes because of their status as Indians.

7 (4) The term ‘‘judicial personnel’’ means any

8 judge, magistrate, court counselor, court clerk, court

9 administrator, bailiff, probation officer, officer of the

10 court, dispute resolution facilitator, or other official,

11 employee, or volunteer within the tribal justice sys12 tem.

13 (5) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of

14 Tribal Justice Support within the Bureau of Indian

15 Affairs.

16 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

17 of the Interior.

18 (7) The term ‘‘tribal organization’’ means any

19 organization defined in section 4(l) of the Indian

20 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

21 (8) The term ‘‘tribal justice system’’ means the

22 entire judicial branch, and employees thereof, of an

23 Indian tribe, including but not limited to traditional

24 methods and forums for dispute resolution, lower

25 courts, appellate courts, alternative dispute resolu-
4

•HR 1268 IH

1 tion systems, and circuit rider systems, established

2 by inherent tribal authority whether or not they con3 stitute a court of record.

4 TITLE I—TRIBAL JUSTICE

5 SYSTEMS

6 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF TRIBAL JUSTICE SUPPORT.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

8 within the Bureau the Office of Tribal Justice Support.

9 The purpose of the Office shall be to further the develop10 ment, operation, and enhancement of tribal justice sys11 tems and Courts of Indian Offenses.

12 (b) TRANSFER OF EXISTING FUNCTIONS AND PER13 SONNEL.—All functions performed before the date of the

14 enactment of this Act by the Branch of Judicial Services

15 of the Bureau and all personnel assigned to such Branch

16 as of the date of the enactment of this Act are hereby

17 transferred to the Office of Tribal Justice Support. Any

18 reference in any law, regulation, executive order, reorga19 nization plan, or delegation of authority to the Branch of

20 Judicial Services is deemed to be a reference to the Office

21 of Tribal Justice Support.

22 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Except as otherwise provided in

23 title II, in addition to the functions transferred to the Of24 fice pursuant to subsection (b), the Office shall perform

25 the following functions:
5

•HR 1268 IH

1 (1) Develop and conduct programs of continu2 ing education and training for personnel of tribal ju3 dicial systems and Courts of Indian Offenses.

4 (2) Provide funds to Indian tribes and tribal or5 ganizations for the development, enhancement, and

6 continuing operation of tribal justice systems.

7 (3) Provide technical assistance and training to

8 Indian tribes and tribal organizations upon request.

9 (4) Study and conduct research concerning the

10 operation of tribal justice systems.

11 (5) Promote cooperation and coordination be12 tween tribal justice systems, the Federal judiciary,

13 and State judiciary systems.

14 (6) Oversee the continuing operations of the

15 Courts of Indian Offenses.

16 (d) NO IMPOSITION OF STANDARDS.—Nothing in

17 this section shall be deemed or construed to authorize the

18 Office to impose justice standards on Indian tribes.

19 (e) ASSISTANCE TO TRIBES.—(1) The Office shall

20 provide training and technical assistance to any Indian

21 tribe or tribal organization upon request. Technical assist22 ance and training which may be provided by the Office

23 shall include, but is not limited to, assistance for the devel24 opment of—

25 (A) tribal codes and rules of procedure;
6

•HR 1268 IH

1 (B) tribal court administrative procedures and

2 court records management systems;

3 (C) methods of reducing case delays;

4 (D) methods of alternative dispute resolution;

5 (E) tribal standards for judicial administration

6 and conduct; and

7 (F) long-range plans for the enhancement of

8 tribal justice systems.

9 (2) Technical assistance and training provided pursu10 ant to paragraph (1) may be provided through direct serv11 ices, by contract with independent entities, or through

12 grants to Indian tribes or tribal organizations.

13 (f) INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE ON TRIBAL JUS14 TICE SYSTEMS.—The Office shall establish an information

15 clearinghouse (which shall include an electronic data base)

16 on tribal justice systems and Courts of Indian Offenses

17 including, but not limited to, information on tribal judicial

18 personnel, funding, model tribal codes, tribal justice activi19 ties, and tribal judicial decisions.

20 SEC. 102. SURVEY OF TRIBAL JUDICIAL SYSTEMS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Office shall conduct

23 a survey of conditions of tribal justice systems and Courts

24 of Indian Offenses to determine the resources and funding

25 needed to provide for expeditious and effective administra-
7

•HR 1268 IH

1 tion of justice. The Office shall annually update the infor2 mation and findings contained in the survey required

3 under this section.

4 (b) LOCAL CONDITIONS.—In the course of any an5 nual survey, the Office shall document local conditions on

6 each reservation, including, but not limited to—

7 (1) the reservation size and population to be

8 served;

9 (2) the levels of functioning and capacity of the

10 tribal justice system;

11 (3) the volume and complexity of the case loads;

12 (4) the facilities, including detention facilities,

13 and program resources available;

14 (5) funding levels and personnel staffing re15 quirements for the tribal justice system;

16 (6) the experience and qualifications of judicial

17 personnel of the tribal justice system; and

18 (7) the training and technical assistance needs

19 of the tribal justice system.

20 (c) CONSULTATION WITH INDIAN TRIBES.—The Of21 fice shall actively consult with Indian tribes and tribal or22 ganizations in the development and conduct of the surveys

23 under this section. Indian tribes and tribal organizations

24 shall have the opportunity to review and make rec25 ommendations regarding the findings of the survey prior
8

•HR 1268 IH

1 to final publication of the survey. After Indian tribes and

2 tribal organizations have reviewed and commented on the

3 results of the survey, the Office shall report its findings,

4 together with the comments and recommendations of the

5 Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to the Secretary,

6 the Select Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, and

7 the Subcommittee on Native American Affairs of the Com8 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa9 tives.

10 SEC. 103. BASE SUPPORT FUNDING FOR TRIBAL JUSTICE

11 SYSTEMS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the Indian Self-De13 termination and Education Assistance Act, the Secretary

14 is authorized (to the extent provided in advance in appro15 priations Acts) to enter into contracts, grants, or agree16 ments with Indian tribes and tribal organizations for the

17 development, enhancement, and continuing operation of

18 tribal justice systems on Indian reservations.

19 (b) PURPOSES FOR WHICH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

20 MAY BE USED.—Financial assistance provided through

21 contracts, grants, or agreements entered into pursuant to

22 this section may be used for—

23 (1) planning for the development, enhancement,

24 and operation of tribal justice systems;

25 (2) the employment of judicial personnel;
9

•HR 1268 IH

1 (3) training programs and continuing education

2 for tribal judicial personnel;

3 (4) the acquisition, development, and mainte4 nance of a law library or computer assisted legal re5 search capacities;

6 (5) the development, revision, and publication

7 of tribal codes, rules of practice, rules of procedure,

8 and standards of judicial performance and conduct;

9 (6) the development and operation of records

10 management systems;

11 (7) the construction or renovation of facilities

12 for tribal justice systems;

13 (8) membership and related expenses for par14 ticipation in national and regional organizations of

15 tribal justice systems and other professional organi16 zations; and

17 (9) the development and operation of other in18 novative and culturally relevant programs and

19 projects, including programs and projects for—

20 (A) alternative dispute resolution;

21 (B) tribal victims assistance or victims

22 services;

23 (C) tribal probation services or diversion

24 programs;
10

•HR 1268 IH

1 (D) multidisciplinary investigations of child

2 abuse; and

3 (E) tribal traditional justice systems or

4 traditional methods of dispute resolution.

5 (c) FORMULA.—(1) Not later than 180 days after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, with the

7 full participation of Indian tribes, shall establish and pro8 mulgate by regulation, a formula which establishes base

9 support funding for tribal justice systems in carrying out

10 this section and tribal judicial conferences carrying out

11 section 201(a)(2) on behalf of members of such con12 ferences. Such formula shall assure that in any case in

13 which two or more Indian tribes form a tribal judicial con14 ference under title II, the base support for such conference

15 shall be an amount equal to the aggregate of that which

16 each tribal member of such conference would have received

17 if such tribe had not elected to be a member of the con18 ference.

19 (2) The Secretary shall develop appropriate case load

20 standards and staffing requirements for tribal justice sys21 tems that take into account unique reservation conditions.

22 In the development of these standards, the Secretary shall

23 work cooperatively with Indian tribes and tribal organiza24 tions and shall refer to comparable relevant standards de25 veloped by the Judicial Conference of the United States,
11

•HR 1268 IH

1 the National Center for State Courts, and the American

2 Bar Association.

3 (3) Factors to be considered in the development of

4 the base support funding formula shall include, but are

5 not limited to—

6 (A) the case load standards and staffing re7 quirements developed under paragraph (2);

8 (B) the reservation size and population to be

9 served;

10 (C) the volume and complexity of the case

11 loads;

12 (D) the projected number of cases per month;

13 (E) the projected number of persons receiving

14 probation services or participating in diversion pro15 grams; and

16 (F) any special circumstances warranting addi17 tional financial assistance.

18 (4) In developing the formula for base support fund19 ing for the tribal judicial systems and tribal judicial con20 ferences under this section, the Secretary shall ensure eq21 uitable distribution of funds.
12

•HR 1268 IH

1 TITLE II—TRIBAL JUDICIAL

2 CONFERENCES

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT; FUNDING.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—In any case in which two or

5 more governing bodies of Indian tribes establish a judicial

6 conference, such conference shall be considered a tribal or7 ganization and eligible to contract for funds pursuant to

8 this title if each member tribe served by the conference

9 has adopted a tribal resolution which authorizes the tribal

10 judicial conference to receive and administer funds under

11 this title. At the written request of any tribal judicial con12 ference, a contract entered into pursuant to this title

13 shall—

14 (1) authorize the conference to receive funds

15 and only perform some or all of the duties of the

16 Bureau and the Office under sections 101 and 102

17 on behalf of the members of such conference; and

18 (2) authorize the conference to receive funds

19 and only perform some or all of the duties of the

20 Bureau and the Office under section 103 on behalf

21 of members of the conference.

22 (b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—Pursuant to the Indian

23 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, the

24 Secretary is authorized to enter into contracts, grants, or

25 agreements with a tribal judicial conference for the devel-
13

•HR 1268 IH

1 opment, enhancement, and continuing operation of tribal

2 justice systems of Indian tribes which are members of

3 such conference.

4 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary is authorized to pro5 vide funding to tribal judicial conferences pursuant to con6 tracts entered into under the authority of the Indian Self7 Determination and Education Assistance Act for adminis8 trative expenses incurred by such conferences.

9 SEC. 202. LIMITATION.

10 In any case in which an Indian tribe receives financial

11 assistance through a tribal judicial conference for the op12 eration of a tribal justice system for any fiscal year, the

13 tribal justice system of that tribe shall not be eligible for

14 assistance under title I for that fiscal year.

15 TITLE III—AUTHORIZATIONS

16 SEC. 301. TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS.

17 (a) OFFICE.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated to carry out the provisions of sections 101, 102,

19 and 201(a)(1) of this Act, $7,000,000 for each of the fis20 cal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

21 None of the funds provided under this subsection may be

22 used for the administrative expenses of the Office or any

23 tribal judicial conference.

24 (b) BASE SUPPORT FUNDING FOR TRIBAL JUSTICE

25 SYSTEMS AND JUDICIAL CONFERENCES.—There are au-
14

•HR 1268 IH

1 thorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of

2 sections 103 and 201(a)(2) of this Act, $50,000,000 for

3 each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998,

4 1999, and 2000.

5 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR OFFICE.—

6 There are authorized to be appropriated, for the adminis7 trative expenses of the Office, $500,000 for each of the

8 fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and

9 2000.

10 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES FOR TRIBAL JUDI11 CIAL CONFERENCES.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated, for the administrative expenses of tribal judicial

13 conferences, $500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994,

14 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

15 (e) INDIAN PRIORITY SYSTEM.—Funds appropriated

16 pursuant to the authorizations provided by this section

17 and available to a tribal judicial conference shall not be

18 subject to the Indian priority system.

19 (f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—In allocating funds ap20 propriated pursuant to the authorization contained in sub21 section (a) among the Bureau, Office, and tribal judicial

22 conferences, the Secretary shall take such actions as may

23 be necessary to ensure that such allocation is carried out

24 in a manner that is fair and equitable to tribal justice sys25 tems and judicial conferences.
15

•HR 1268 IH

Æ