criminal jurisdiction

Considerations in Implementing VAWA's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction and TLOA's Enhanced Sentencing Authority: A Look at the Experience of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe

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On February 20, 2014, pursuant to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013), the Pascua Yaqui Tribe was one of only three Tribes across the United States to begin exercising Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (SDVCJ) over non-Indian perpetrators of domestic violence. Since that time, the Tribe has had 20 reported cases involving non-Indian defendants. On July 2, 2014, for the first time since 1978 when the U.S. Supreme Court stripped tribal governments of their criminal authority over non-Indians in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978), our tribe obtained the first conviction of a non-Indian, a 26-year-old Hispanic male, for the crime of domestic violence assault committed on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation. Throughout this process, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe has actively engaged in a process of sharing information with other tribes who are exercising (or considering exercising) powers restored under the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 and the Violence Against Women Act of 2013.

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Urbina, Alfred and Melissa Tatum. 2014. Considerations in Implementing VAWA's Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction and TLOA's Enhanced Sentencing Authority: A Look at the Experience of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Tucson, AZ: Pascua Yaqui Tribe. (http://www.ncai.org/tribal-vawa/getting-started/Practical_Guide_to_Imple..., accessed March 3, 2023).

Courts & Peacemaking in the Navajo Nation: A Public Guide

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The history of our judiciary begins in our ancient history. According to the Journey Narrative, the People journeyed through four worlds and, in the course of their journey, came upon many problems both natural and caused by the People, which had to be resolved before the journey continued. The solution begins in a place of chaos, hóóchx̨o’/ anáhóót’i’.  When hóóchx̨o’/anáhóót’i’ is confronted, people may learn there is a choice to leave it.  When harmony, hózh̨̨ó, is self-realized, sustaining it will have clarity and permanent hózh̨̨ó will be self-attainable, hózh̨ǫ́ójí k’ehgo nįná’íldee’ iłhááhodidzaa ná’oodzíí’. In short, the concept of Diné justice is founded on the achievement of sustainable hózh̨̨ó, which is in the People’s own hands, and it is the duty of the judiciary to maximize this responsibility as far as our processes allow...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Navajo Nation. Courts & Peacemaking in the Navajo Nation: A Public Guide. Navajo Nation. February 23, 2021. Guide. (https://courts.navajo-nsn.gov/publicguide.htm, accessed March 29, 2023)