Supreme Court Affirms Authority of Tribal Police to Investigate Crime Involving Indians and Non-Indians in Indian Country
June 2, 2021
WASHINGTON (AGN.News) – The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the sovereign power of American Indian tribes in policing on tribal lands. Many roads and freeways traverse Indian lands. On June 1, 2021 the United States Supreme Court affirmed the authority of tribal police to investigate crime on Indian lands committed by non-Indian as well as Indians.
Tribal police officers have the power to temporarily detain and search non-Indians on public rights-of-way through American Indian lands. This police authority came into question when, in February 2016, a Crow Nation police officer saw a vehicle, he thought needed help, on the side of Highway 212 on the Crow Reservation in Montana.
When tribal police officer James Saylor approached the truck, he noticed that the driver, Joshua James Cooley, had watery bloodshot eyes. Officer Saylor also saw two semiautomatic rifles sitting on the front seat. He ordered Mr. Cooley out of the truck, did a pat-down search and called for backup. He then noticed a glass pipe and a plastic bag of methamphetamine in the truck. Upon arriving, federal and state officers instructed Saylor to seize the drug evidence. Federal officers eventually arrested Cooley.
A federal grand jury later charged Cooley with gun and drug charges under federal law. Cooley sought to vacate the charges by arguing that the drug evidence seized by Saylor could not be introduced into court because a Crow Tribe police officer lacked the authority to investigate crimes by a non-Indian.
Mr. Cooley appealed his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court. His appeal was based on the 1978 Supreme Court ruling and the landmark Supreme Court ruling Montana v. United States in 1981, which stated that tribal governments could not prosecute non-Indians for any crimes in Indian country with a couple exceptions. This ruling meant that non-Indians have been able to commit crimes in Indian country with impunity.
On Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the sovereign power of American Indian tribes, ruling that tribal police officers have the power to temporarily detain and search non-Indians on public rights-of-way through American Indian lands.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Cooley. Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the court, stated clearly that “no treaty or statute has explicitly divested Indian tribes of the policing authority at issue.”
The new ruling can be seen as a confirmation of another Supreme Court decision from 1981, declaring that a “tribe may … retain … power … over the conduct of non-Indians … within its reservation when that conduct threatens or has some direct effect on the political integrity, the economic security, or health or welfare of the tribe.”
The new ruling made clear that this case unmistakably affected the health or welfare of the tribe, saying that by denying “… a tribal police officer authority to search and detain … any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats.”
SCOTUS affirms the authority of Native American Tribal police on tribal lands. This case affirms the lawful investigation of state, tribal, and Federal crimes and the lawful detention of non-Indians at the scene until state or Federal law enforcement can handle the case at hand.
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Written by
AGN.News Team
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