NCJ Number
153048
Journal
American Criminal Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 1279-1301
Date Published
1994
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the congressional power to impose an indigent defense requirement upon tribal courts and evaluates whether Congress should do so.
Abstract
Because the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does not apply to Indian tribes, defendants in Indian tribal courts do not have the right to counsel. Despite the potential for injustice in such a circumstance, the U.S. Congress, although it has the power, has refrained from imposing the right to counsel on Indian tribal courts. The author discusses tribal courts, including their history, nature, and jurisdictional role, and then describes their interaction with the Federal courts. After examining the evidentiary use of uncounseled tribal court convictions in Federal courts, the author concludes that tribal sovereignty, intertribal diversity, and the existing responsiveness of tribes to the needs of their members mitigate against congressional imposition of a right to counsel and shows how this can be justified despite the potential for civil rights abuses. 114 footnotes