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Passage of the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 encouraged tribes to enact their own laws and establish their own modern tribal courts. Modern tribal courts are under tribal control, and are directly oriented to the needs of tribal members. Some tribes have developed a hybrid or blended judicial system, incorporating the dispute resolution elements of indigenous or Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) courts and a more modern focus to ensure due process. In 2002, about 60% (188) of all the tribes had some form of a tribal justice system.
The court systems operating in Indian country vary by tribe. The Indian country judicial system revolves around a core of four legal institutions—Court of Indian Offenses (CFR courts), tribal courts of appeal, tribal courts of general jurisdiction, and indigenous forums.
Summary findings
Over 92% (314) of the 341 federally recognized American Indian tribes in the lower 48 states participated in the BJS Census of Tribal Justice Agencies, 2002. Highlights from the report include:
Data Collections & Surveys |
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Compendium of Tribal Crime Data, 2011 Focuses on BJS's existing data on key criminal justice issues in Indian country and addresses gaps in tribal crime data. | |
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Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country, 2002 Presents detailed information gathered on tribal law enforcement agencies, tribal courts and services, and criminal record systems from the 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in American Indian Jurisdictions. | |
PDF (337K) | ASCII file (34K) | Spreadsheet (Zip format 60K) | 2002 Census of Tribal Justice Agencies in Indian Country Data File (Spreadsheet 350K) | To order paper version
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1984 State Trial Court Jurisdiction Guide for Statistical Reporting - Summary Tables These 19 summary tables provide information relating to the completeness and comparability of State trial court statistics for 1984. | |
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Bureau of Justice StatisticsBJS Statistical Principals and Practices Scientific Integrity Statement OJP Freedom of Information Act |
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