I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 780 

To authorize Indian tribes to exercise jurisdiction over crimes of domestic 

violence that occur in the Indian country of that tribe. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2013 

Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. COLE, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. KLINE, 

Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. DENHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize Indian tribes to exercise jurisdiction over crimes 

of domestic violence that occur in the Indian country 

of that tribe. 

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 ‘‘Violence Against In5 dian Women Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER CRIMES OF DOMESTIC 

2 VIOLENCE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of Public Law 90–284 (25 

4 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

5 Civil Rights Act of 1968’’) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 204. TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER CRIMES OF DOMES8 TIC VIOLENCE. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘dating vio11 lence’ means violence committed by a person who is 

12 or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or 

13 intimate nature with the victim, as determined by 

14 the length of the relationship, the type of relation15 ship, and the frequency of interaction between the 

16 persons involved in the relationship. 

17 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domes18 tic violence’ means violence committed by a current 

19 or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, 

20 by a person with whom the victim shares a child in 

21 common, by a person who is cohabitating with or 

22 has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or inti23 mate partner, or by a person similarly situated to a 

24 spouse of the victim under the domestic- or family25 violence laws of an Indian tribe that has jurisdiction 

26 over the Indian country where the violence occurs. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘Indian 

2 country’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 

4 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATING TRIBE.—The term ‘partici5 pating tribe’ means an Indian tribe that elects to ex6 ercise special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction 

7 over the Indian country of that Indian tribe. 

8 ‘‘(5) PROTECTION ORDER.—The term ‘protec9 tion order’— 

10 ‘‘(A) means any injunction, restraining 

11 order, or other order issued by a civil or crimi12 nal court for the purpose of preventing violent 

13 or threatening acts or harassment against, sex14 ual violence against, contact or communication 

15 with, or physical proximity to, another person; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) includes any temporary or final order 

18 issued by a civil or criminal court, whether ob19 tained by filing an independent action or as a 

20 pendente lite order in another proceeding, if the 

21 civil or criminal order was issued in response to 

22 a complaint, petition, or motion filed by or on 

23 behalf of a person seeking protection. 

24 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIMINAL

25 JURISDICTION.—The term ‘special domestic violence 


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1 criminal jurisdiction’ means the criminal jurisdiction 

2 that a participating tribe may exercise under this 

3 section but could not otherwise exercise. 

4 ‘‘(7) SPOUSE OR INTIMATE PARTNER.—The 

5 term ‘spouse or intimate partner’ has the meaning 

6 given the term in section 2266 of title 18, United 

7 States Code. 

8 ‘‘(b) NATURE OF THE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, in addition to all powers of self-gov11 ernment recognized and affirmed by sections 201, 

12 202, and 203, the powers of self-government of a 

13 participating tribe include the inherent power of that 

14 tribe, which is hereby recognized and affirmed, to 

15 exercise special domestic violence criminal jurisdic16 tion over all persons. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONCURRENT JURISDICTION.—The exer18 cise of special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction 

19 by a participating tribe shall be concurrent with the 

20 jurisdiction of the United States, of a State, or of 

21 both. 

22 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this sec23 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(A) creates or eliminates any Federal or 

2 State criminal jurisdiction over Indian country; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(B) affects the authority of the United 

5 States or any State government that has been 

6 delegated authority by the United States to in7 vestigate and prosecute a criminal violation in 

8 Indian country. 

9 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) VICTIM AND DEFENDANT ARE BOTH

11 NON-INDIANS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A participating 

13 tribe may not exercise special domestic vio14 lence criminal jurisdiction over an alleged 

15 offense if neither the defendant nor the al16 leged victim is an Indian. 

17 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION OF VICTIM.—In this 

18 subparagraph and with respect to a crimi19 nal proceeding in which a participating 

20 tribe exercises special domestic violence 

21 criminal jurisdiction based on a violation of 

22 a protection order, the term ‘victim’ means 

23 a person specifically protected by a protec24 tion order that the defendant allegedly vio25 lated. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DEFENDANT LACKS TIES TO THE IN2 DIAN TRIBE.—A participating tribe may exer3 cise special domestic violence criminal jurisdic4 tion over a defendant only if the defendant— 

5 ‘‘(i) resides in the Indian country of 

6 the participating tribe; 

7 ‘‘(ii) is employed in the Indian coun8 try of the participating tribe; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) is a spouse, intimate partner, or 

10 dating partner of— 

11 ‘‘(I) a member of the partici12 pating tribe; or 

13 ‘‘(II) an Indian who resides in 

14 the Indian country of the partici15 pating tribe. 

16 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL CONDUCT.—A participating tribe may 

17 exercise special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction over 

18 a defendant for criminal conduct that falls into one or 

19 more of the following categories: 

20 ‘‘(1) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DATING VIO21 LENCE.—An act of domestic violence or dating vio22 lence that occurs in the Indian country of the par23 ticipating tribe. 

24 ‘‘(2) VIOLATIONS OF PROTECTION ORDERS.— 

25 An act that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) occurs in the Indian country of the 

2 participating tribe; and 

3 ‘‘(B) violates the portion of a protection 

4 order that— 

5 ‘‘(i) prohibits or provides protection 

6 against violent or threatening acts or har7 assment against, sexual violence against, 

8 contact or communication with, or physical 

9 proximity to, another person; 

10 ‘‘(ii) was issued against the defend11 ant; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is enforceable by the partici13 pating tribe; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is consistent with section 

15 2265(b) of title 18, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(d) RIGHTS OF DEFENDANTS.—In a criminal pro17 ceeding in which a participating tribe exercises special do18 mestic violence criminal jurisdiction, the participating 

19 tribe shall provide to the defendant— 

20 ‘‘(1) all applicable rights under this Act; 

21 ‘‘(2) if a term of imprisonment of any length 

22 may be imposed, all rights described in section 

23 202(c); 

24 ‘‘(3) the right to a trial by an impartial jury 

25 that is drawn from sources that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) reflect a fair cross section of the com2 munity; and 

3 ‘‘(B) do not systematically exclude any dis4 tinctive group in the community, including non5 Indians; and 

6 ‘‘(4) all other rights whose protection is nec7 essary under the Constitution of the United States 

8 in order for Congress to recognize and affirm the in9 herent power of the participating tribe to exercise 

10 special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction over 

11 the defendant. 

12 ‘‘(e) PETITIONS TO STAY DETENTION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who has filed a 

14 petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a court of the 

15 United States under section 203 may petition that 

16 court to stay further detention of that person by the 

17 participating tribe. 

18 ‘‘(2) GRANT OF STAY.—A court shall grant a 

19 stay described in paragraph (1) if the court— 

20 ‘‘(A) finds that there is a substantial likeli21 hood that the habeas corpus petition will be 

22 granted; and 

23 ‘‘(B) after giving each alleged victim in the 

24 matter an opportunity to be heard, finds by 

25 clear and convincing evidence that under condiVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:53 Feb 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H780.IH H780

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1 tions imposed by the court, the petitioner is not 

2 likely to flee or pose a danger to any person or 

3 the community if released. 

4 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—An Indian tribe that has or5 dered the detention of any person has a duty to 

6 timely notify such person of his rights and privileges 

7 under this subsection and under section 203. 

8 ‘‘(f) SUBJECT TO REMOVAL.—A criminal prosecution 

9 commenced in a tribal court under this section may, pur10 suant to section 3245 of title 18, United States Code, be 

11 removed to the United States district court embracing the 

12 place where the criminal prosecution is pending, and the 

13 district court shall have full authority to hear and deter14 mine the cause. 

15 ‘‘(g) GRANTS TO TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—The At16 torney General may award grants to the governments of 

17 Indian tribes (or to authorized designees of those govern18 ments)— 

19 ‘‘(1) to strengthen tribal criminal justice sys20 tems to assist Indian tribes in exercising special do21 mestic violence criminal jurisdiction, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) law enforcement (including the capac23 ity of law enforcement or court personnel to 

24 enter information into and obtain information 

25 from national crime information databases); 


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1 ‘‘(B) prosecution; 

2 ‘‘(C) trial and appellate courts; 

3 ‘‘(D) probation systems; 

4 ‘‘(E) detention and correctional facilities; 

5 ‘‘(F) alternative rehabilitation centers; 

6 ‘‘(G) culturally appropriate services and 

7 assistance for victims and their families; and 

8 ‘‘(H) criminal codes and rules of criminal 

9 procedure, appellate procedure, and evidence; 

10 ‘‘(2) to provide indigent criminal defendants 

11 with the effective assistance of licensed defense 

12 counsel, at no cost to the defendant, in criminal pro13 ceedings in which a participating tribe prosecutes a 

14 crime of domestic violence or dating violence or a 

15 criminal violation of a protection order; 

16 ‘‘(3) to ensure that, in criminal proceedings in 

17 which a participating tribe exercises special domestic 

18 violence criminal jurisdiction, jurors are summoned, 

19 selected, and instructed in a manner consistent with 

20 all applicable requirements; and 

21 ‘‘(4) to accord victims of domestic violence, dat22 ing violence, and violations of protection orders 

23 rights that are similar to the rights of a crime victim 

24 described in section 3771(a) of title 18, United 

25 States Code, consistent with tribal law and custom. 


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1 ‘‘(h) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts 

2 made available under this section shall supplement and 

3 not supplant any other Federal, State, tribal, or local gov4 ernment amounts made available to carry out activities de5 scribed in this section. 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of 

8 fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out subsection 

9 (g) and to provide training, technical assistance, data col10 lection, and evaluation of the criminal justice systems of 

11 participating tribes.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

13 for title II of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 

14 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the 

15 item relating to section 203 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 204. Tribal jurisdiction over crimes of domestic violence.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 211 of title 18, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘§ 3245. Federal removal jurisdiction to protect the 

21 rights of defendants under section 204 of 

22 the Indian Civil Rights Act. 

23 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF REMOVAL.—A defendant desiring to 

24 remove a criminal prosecution from a tribal court pursu25 ant to section 204(f) of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 


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1 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(f)) shall file in the district court 

2 of the United States for the district and division within 

3 which such prosecution is pending a notice of removal 

4 signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil 

5 Procedure and containing a short and plain statement of 

6 the grounds for removal under subsection (b), together 

7 with a copy of all process, pleadings, and orders served 

8 upon such defendant or defendants in such action. 

9 ‘‘(b) GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL.—No criminal pros10 ecution under section 204 of the Indian Civil Rights Act 

11 of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304) shall be removed unless the de12 fendant can prove by clear and convincing evidence that 

13 a right guaranteed them under section 204(d) of the In14 dian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(d)), has 

15 been violated, the tribal court has failed to adequately 

16 remedy the violation, and the violation is prejudicial to the 

17 defendant. 

18 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) A notice of removal of a criminal prosecu20 tion under section 204(f) of the Indian Civil Rights 

21 Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(f)) shall be filed not 

22 later than 30 days after the arraignment in the trib23 al court, or at any time before trial, whichever is 

24 earlier, except that for good cause shown the United 

25 States district court may enter an order granting 


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1 the defendant or defendants leave to file the notice 

2 at a later time. 

3 ‘‘(2) A notice of removal of a criminal prosecu4 tion under section 204(f) of the Indian Civil Rights 

5 Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(f)) shall include all 

6 grounds for such removal. A failure to state grounds 

7 that exist at the time of the filing of the notice shall 

8 constitute a waiver of such grounds, and a second 

9 notice may be filed only on grounds not existing at 

10 the time of the original notice. For good cause 

11 shown, the United States district court may grant 

12 relief from the limitations of this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(3) The filing of a notice of removal of a 

14 criminal prosecution under section 204(f) of the In15 dian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(f)) 

16 shall not prevent the tribal court in which such pros17 ecution is pending from proceeding further, except 

18 that a judgment of conviction shall not be entered 

19 unless the prosecution is first remanded. 

20 ‘‘(4) The United States district court in which 

21 such notice is filed shall examine the notice prompt22 ly. If it clearly appears on the face of the notice and 

23 any exhibits annexed thereto that removal should 

24 not be permitted, the court shall make an order for 

25 summary remand. 


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1 ‘‘(5) If the United States district court does not 

2 order the summary remand of such prosecution, it 

3 shall order an evidentiary hearing to be held prompt4 ly and, after such hearing, shall make such disposi5 tion of the prosecution as justice shall require. If the 

6 United States district court determines that removal 

7 shall be permitted, it shall so notify the tribal court 

8 in which prosecution is pending, which shall proceed 

9 no further. 

10 ‘‘(d) WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS.—If the defendant 

11 or defendants are in actual custody on process issued by 

12 the tribal court, the district court shall issue its writ of 

13 habeas corpus, and the marshal shall thereupon take such 

14 defendant or defendants into the marshal’s custody and 

15 deliver a copy of the writ to the clerk of such tribal court. 

16 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTOR17 NEYS.—To assist in implementing this section and section 

18 204(f) of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 

19 1304(f)) and in prosecuting crimes of domestic violence 

20 and dating violence in Indian country, each United States 

21 Attorney serving a district that includes Indian country 

22 is authorized and encouraged to appoint qualified tribal 

23 prosecutors as Special Assistant United States Attorneys 

24 pursuant to section 13(d) of the Indian Law Enforcement 


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1 Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2810(d)) and section 543(a) of 

2 title 28, United States Code.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for chapter 211 of title 18, United States Code, is amend5 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 3244 the 

6 following: 

‘‘3245. Federal removal jurisdiction to protect the rights of defendants under 

section 204 of the Indian Civil Rights Act..’’. 

Æ 


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