TLPI Tribal Domestic Violence Laws

"All governments should be very concerned about domestic violence against Native women. Tribal governments across the United States are creating programs to improve response to violent crime. As sovereign governments, tribes can assert jurisdiction in criminal and civil actions involving assaults against Native women ... As sovereign governments, many tribes have asserted concurrent or exclusive criminal and/or civil jurisdiction in domestic violence cases. A key piece of responding to domestic violence is to draft or revise tribal domestic violence laws. This resource guide was developed to provide a starting point for drafting or revising tribal laws on domestic violence. It is written with a philosophy that tribal laws should reflect tribal values. In addition, writing a tribal law usually requires careful consideration of how state and/or federal laws might apply in the community. This resource guide includes examples from a variety of tribal codes and discussion questions that are designed to help tribal community members decide on the best laws for your community" (p. 1). Resources are organized into the following sections: general provisions; jurisdiction-criminal or civil; criminal domestic violence statutes-defining domestic violence, role of law enforcement, role of tribal prosecutors, role of courts, evidence, victims' rights in criminal proceedings, and sanctions; protective orders-developing civil protective orders, violating protective orders, and full faith and credit; family law and child custody; and education and batterer intervention.