NCJ Number
209351
Date Published
2004
Length
451 pages
Annotation
This textbook, the second in a series of studies of tribal law in the United States, is a comprehensive survey of substantive and procedural criminal law that governs Native-American tribal judicial systems.
Abstract
The four chapters of part 1 contrast criminal law in Anglo-American and Native societies. The opening chapter notes the Anglo-American legal system's distinction between the criminal legal system and the civil legal system. This is followed by a chapter that compares traditional Native criminal law to Anglo-American criminal law. Native social control consisted of tribal customs, both oral and written, that emphasized desired behaviors rather than prohibited behaviors. Social harms caused by violations of traditional behaviors were resolved through councils. One chapter examines the conflicts that have historically arisen when Anglo-American criminal law has been used to control Native-American Nations. Modern traditional law among tribes is described in the fourth chapter of part 1. In part 2, five chapters focus on criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. After defining criminal jurisdiction, chapters discuss the limitation on tribal criminal jurisdiction imposed by the U.S. Government, efforts by Tribal Nations to address jurisdictional gaps, and criminal jurisdiction as defined by tribal courts. Part 3 consists of six chapters that discuss the various elements of a crime and defenses. Chapters consider crime as an act, the mental state associated with the act, preliminary crimes and accomplice liability, criminal defenses, and the burden of proof. The eight chapters of part 4, "Criminal Procedure," address the rights of defendants and victims, arrest, interrogations and confessions, search and seizure, the exclusionary rule, right to an attorney, rights at trial, and victims' rights in criminal procedure. The book concludes with the two chapters of part 5, which discuss fines and incarceration as well as alternative sentences that reflect traditional Native-American sanctions. Suggested readings for each chapter, a subject index, and a glossary