BIA funds the tribal court. The community currently is rebuilding the courthouse and adjoining jail. The Metlakatla court is a court of record which applies federal law, ICWA, state and local law, and traditional law. Elders advise the court on matters of traditional law. In 1992, the court heard 478 adult and 96 juvenile cases involving criminal violations.
Judges expect to hear marriages and divorces in the near future.
Traditional Tsimshian law is applied in probate matters. It is committed to establishing a tribal court, but has yet to decide how that court will be structured. Thoughts are to have a circuit court with three judges elected by the Assembly who will travel to communities that request dispute resolution services. Each community will have its own ordinances that judges may apply along with traditional Tlingit, Haida, or Tsimshian law. Each community also will have its own clerk of court, responsible for making internal arrangements such as handling the docket.