Skip to content
Back to top

Tribal-State Collaborations

Legislation/Policy/Procedure

Filter:  AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Alabama

Title: Poarch Creek Bank of Indians Tribal Code Provision: Extradition
Parties: Poarch Creek Bank of Indians, State of Alabama, and Other Tribal Jurisdictions
Date enacted/published: 1997; revisions 1999

Description:

Poarch Band of Creek Indians Code, Section 9-2: Extradition. This code provides the conditions under which the tribe will extradite an accused person to a state or different Indian tribe’s jurisdiction. Key provisions include:

  • Requirement for written request from the jurisdiction which recognizes comparable tribal extradition authority.
  • Accused has right to file for habeas corpus.
  • Accused has right to hearing in tribal court.


Arizona

Title: Fort McDowell Yavapai Community Law and Order Code Provision: Extradition
Parties: Fort McDowell Yavapai Community, States, and Other Indian Tribes
Date enacted/published: July 9, 1990; revisions 2000

Description:

Law and Order Code of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Community, Arizona, Chapter 7: Extradition. This code provides the conditions under which the tribe will extradite an accused person to a state or different Indian tribe’s jurisdiction. Key provisions include:

  • Requirement for written request from the requesting jurisdiction.
  • Requirement that the crime committed be a felony, except that any act made a crime by any Indian tribe will be interpreted as a felony for extradition purposes.
  • The accused is not required to have been present at the scene of the crime if his or her actions intentionally resulted in the crime occurring in the requesting jurisdiction.
  • Accused has right to file for habeas corpus.
  • Accused has right to hearing in tribal court.
  • Process for community to request extradition from other jurisdictions.


Title: Navajo Nation Law and Order Code Provision: Extradition
Parties: Navajo Nation, Other State Jurisdictions, and Other Tribal Jurisdictions
Date enacted/published: January 27, 1956; revisions May, 14, 1970

Description:

Navajo Nation Law and Order Code, Subchapter 7: Extradition. This code provides that the Navajo Nation will extradite an accused non-Navajo Indian to state authorities at the Navajo Reservation boundary.

  • Extradition is limited to accused Indians.
  • The accused has a right to a hearing in tribal court.


Title: Navajo Nation Tribal Council Resolution Pertaining to Extradition
Parties: Navajo Nation and Other State Jurisdictions
Date enacted/published: May 14, 1970

Description:

The Navajo Nation Tribal Code concerning extradition originally limited extradition to the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and therefore permitted Indians who committed crimes in other states to use the Navajo Nation as an asylum. The Navajo Tribal Council therefore issued this resolution to edit the provision to include any Indian who has committed a crime outside of Indian country.



Title: Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Tribal Code, Chapter 7: Extradition Powers
Parties: Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, State of Arizona, and Other Tribal Jurisdictions
Date enacted/published: 1976

Description:

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Tribal Code, Chapter 7: Extradition.

This code provides the conditions under which the tribe will extradite an accused person to a different Indian tribe’s jurisdiction or to the state of Arizona. Key provisions include:

  • Requirement for written request from the requesting jurisdiction.
  • Requirement that the crime committed be a felony, except that any act made a crime by any Indian tribe will be interpreted as a felony for extradition purposes.
  • If Salt River desires to extradite an individual who is currently being held by another Indian tribe or by the state of Arizona, the corresponding executive authorities may agree to extradition without a written request.
  • The accused is not required to have been present at the scene of the crime if his or her actions intentionally resulted in the crime occurring in the requesting jurisdiction.
  • Accused has right to file for habeas corpus.
  • Accused has right to hearing in tribal court.
  • Any officer who wrongfully delivers an accused is guilty of an offense punishable by up to a $500 fine and/or imprisonment for up to six months.
  • An officer may arrest the accused without a warrant if there is reasonable information that the accused is charged with a crime that is punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.
  • Process for the community to request extradition from other jurisdictions.


Title: Service of Process within Arizona Indian Country
Parties: Arizona tribal courts, Arizona courts
Date enacted/published: unknown

Description:

This is a chart that describes the method of serving process established by each Indian nation in Arizona.

For additional information contact:
David Withey
dwithey@courts.az.gov
State, Tribal and Federal Court Forum
Arizona Judicial Branch
Title: White Mountain Apache, Criminal Code, Chapter 3: Extradition
Parties: White Mountain Apache Tribe, Any State of the United States, and Other Tribal Jurisdictions

Description:

White Mountain Apache Criminal Code, Chapter 3: Extradition. This code provides the conditions under which the tribe will extradite an accused person to a state or different Indian tribe’s jurisdiction. Key provisions include:

  • Requirement for written request and a copy of the indictment.
  • Accused has right to file for habeas corpus.
  • Nontribal law enforcement in “close pursuit” has authority to enter the reservations and arrest the fleeing person.


Connecticut

Title: Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise Video/Audio Tape Evidence Protocol
Parties: Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise, Connecticut State Police, and Competent Criminal Jurisdictions
Date enacted/published: 2002

Description:

This protocol provides a process for securing and transferring media for either Connecticut State Police investigations or for criminal prosecutions. The protocol includes attachments of the State Police Request Form, Certificate of Authenticity, and a Gaming Enterprise Acknowledgment Letter. Key provisions include:

  • A state trooper must submit a written State Police Request Form for the media.
  • A Connecticut state trooper and the Gaming Enterprise custodian will review the media together.
  • A Gaming Enterprise custodian will certify the copy of media is a true and accurate copy of the original by signing a Certificate of Authenticity.
  • The state trooper will acknowledge receipt of the media with a Gaming Enterprise Acknowledgment Letter.
  • Upon completion of the investigation or prosecution, the Gaming Enterprise custodian will receive all original and copies of the media.


Idaho

Title: Idaho State-Tribal Relations Act of 1984
Parties: State of Idaho and Tribes within the State
Date enacted/published: 1984

Description:
The act authorized the state and its political subdivisions to execute intergovernmental agreements with designated Indian tribes to provide for joint or concurrent jurisdictional powers consistent with Idaho state codes.


Nevada

Title: Nevada Statute: Arrest by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or Tribal Officer
Parties: State of Nevada, BIA, and Any Nevada Indian Tribal Police Officer
Date enacted/published: July 7, 1997

Description:

Nevada Revised Statute 171.1255 provides that a BIA or tribal officer may make an arrest for a witnessed public offense; for persons reasonably believed to commit a felony or gross misdemeanor, when there is a warrant; or for persons reasonably believed to have committed a battery upon a spouse. BIA and tribal officers can only make these arrests in an Indian reservation or if in fresh pursuit.



New Mexico

Title: New Mexico Statute: Law Enforcement: Cross-Commissioned Peace Officers
Parties: State of New Mexico
Date enacted/published: 1953; amended May 15, 2002

Description:

New Mexico Statutes Annotated (N.M.S.A.) 1978, Section 29-1-11 authorizes tribal, pueblo, and certain federal officers to act as New Mexico peace officers, including the power to make arrests.

Key provisions of the authorizing statute include:

  • Any cross-commissioned New Mexico Indian tribe or pueblo officer must be employed by the BIA.
  • Procedures for issuance and revocation of commissions will be set forth in a written agreement between the chief of state police and the tribe or pueblo.
  • The peace officer agreements shall include certain conditions, including:
    • Proof of liability insurance,
    • Requirement for four hundred hours of police training,
    • Authority for the chief of police to suspend any commission,
    • Factors for suspension of the agreement,
    • Citation requirements
    • Disclosure that the agreement does not confer any additional authority on a tribal court, but that nothing in the agreement impairs or affects the tribes’ sovereignty,
    • Tribal police may proceed in hot pursuit of an offender beyond the reservation boundaries, and Navajo police may extend to a described area, and
    • Parties to the agreement are required to meet at least quarterly.
  • Confirmation that all federal law enforcement officers in New Mexico are now authorized as New Mexico peace officers.


North Carolina

Title: North Carolina Statute: An Act to Clarify the Authority of the Officers of the Police Department of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee
Parties: Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, North Carolina
Date enacted/published: June 19, 1987

Description:

This statute amends a preexisting police officer statute to encompass the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians police officers. Key provisions of the statute include:

  • The extraterritorial jurisdiction of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ police department.
  • The courts of North Carolina have the jurisdiction to enjoin the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians police department or any individual officer from exercising any authority under color of state law.
  • Nothing in the statute is meant to limit the inherent powers of self-government, authority conferred by federal law, or the jurisdiction of the tribal court.


Oregon

Title: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Extradition Code
Parties: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon State Courts, and Other State Courts

Description:

This tribal extradition code provides the conditions under which the Umatilla Indian Reservation will extradite an individual found on the reservation, as pursuant to the Tribal-State Extradition Agreement. Key provisions of the code include:

  • Arrest warrants from an Oregon state court, or any of its political subdivisions, will be presented to the Chief of the Umatilla Tribal Police, who shall authorize the warrant.
  • The person shall be arrested pending a hearing on the validity of the warrant in Umatilla Tribal Court.
  • The Umatilla Tribal Court will hold a hearing within seventy-two hours from the time of the arrest.
  • The person may waive extradition.
  • Other state court arrest warrants will be executed as if they were warrants from the state of Oregon.


Title: Nez Perce Tribal Code, 2-1: 9, 20: Fresh Pursuit, Extradition
Parties: Nez Perce Tribal Police, Nez Perce Tribal Court, Other State, Tribal, or Federal Jurisdictions

Description:

Rule 9 of this tribal code provides the instances in which a tribal officer may pursue a suspect off the Nez Perce Reservation. Rule 20 provides the procedure for any state, tribal, or federal jurisdiction seeking the extradition of an individual found within the Nez Perce Reservation. Key provisions of the code include:

  • The chief judge of the Nez Perce has the final discretion to issue the arrest warrant.
  • The tribal police have three business days to bring the individual before the tribal court.
  • The individual has a right to a hearing.


Title: State Peace Officer Status to Tribal Police
Parties: State of Oregon and Tribes within the State
Date enacted/published: 2011

Description:

The new law gives tribal police officers in Oregon, a Public Law 280 state, Peace Officer status. Tribal police are empowered to arrest non-Indians on the reservation for violation of state law and to continue pursuing a suspect onto off-reservation jurisdiction and take action on crimes committed in their presence. The governor supported the bill against opposition that argued that the bill provided enhanced powers to tribal police. The governor, however, argued that compatible training was the key issue and not tribal jurisdiction or powers. If the tribal police officers have training that is the same as other Oregon police officers, then they are qualified to enforce state law as long as they are managed by a federally recognized tribal government.



South Dakota

Title: Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement Reciprocal Extradition Ordinance
Parties: Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe and Any Reservation, State, or Federal Government

Description:

This tribal ordinance permits the tribal chairman to enter into reciprocal law enforcement agreements with any reservation, state, or federal government for the Lake Traverse Reservation. Key provisions of the agreement include:

  • It is the tribal chairman’s duty to demand extradition of fugitives from the reservation and to have any fugitives found in the reservation arrested and delivered to any demanding jurisdiction.
  • Extradition demands must be in writing and must include all of the enumerated elements.
  • Before answering any extradition demands, the prosecutor will investigate the demand.
  • Procedure for arresting and transferring fugitives.
  • Any arrestee will be taken before a tribal judge within seventy-two hours, during which there will be no inquiry into guilt or innocence. The arrestee has the right to apply for habeas corpus or to waive extradition.
  • An arrestee has the right to bail, unless the charge is punishable by life imprisonment.
  • The demanding jurisdiction will bear all of the costs.


Utah

Title: Ute Indian Tribe Law and Order Code: Extradition
Parties: Ute Indian Tribe, and Tribal, State, or Federal Government
Date enacted/published: 1988

Description:

This tribal code provides the conditions under which the tribe may honor or make an extradition request. Key provisions of the code include:

  • The chief judge must seek the consent of the Tribal Business Committee.
  • An extradition request must include certified copies of a complaint, information, or indictment and an arrest warrant.
  • Persons requested for extradition must be charged with a felony or have fled from justice and are seeking to the use the reservation as a refuge.
  • Only the Tribal Business Committee may request the extradition to the reservation of a person who has committed a Class A or B offense on the reservation and thereafter fled to avoid prosecution.


Washington

Title: Tulalip Tribes Ordinance, Re: Employee Records
Parties: Tulalip Tribe
Date enacted/published: June 30, 1997; amended March 23, 2001

Description:

This Tulalip Tribes Ordinance provides for specific procedures for the disclosure of tribal employee information. Key provisions of the ordinance include:

  • All employee records will be kept confidential unless the employee consents or is specifically allowed by tribal law.
  • Exceptions to a duty not to disclose include if the disclosure is to:
    • A custodian;
    • The CEO, to permit him or her to carry out his or her duties;
    • The tribal police if in conjunction with an ongoing criminal investigation and if there is a subpoena;
    • Any other tribal governmental agency if allowed by a Tulalip Tribal Court Order,
    • The United States, when required by an Internal Revenue Service federal law applicable to Indian tribes;
    • The office of the reservation attorney, when acting to advise the CEO;
    • The director of the Tulalip Gaming Agency for bona fide investigations, but only for casinos employees;
    • The compliance manager; and
    • The board of directors and executive staff, provided the disclosure is solely in a confidential budget, and that no names will be included.
  • Employees will be notified within five days of when a request is made, except for certain requests made in the regular course of business.
  • Knowing and intentional violations will be considered a serious offense, unless committed by a member of the board of directors, which shall be deemed gross misconduct.
  • Procedures for alleging a special grievance for violations.
  • The ordinance does not waive the tribe’s sovereign immunity.
  • Not-hired applicants’ records will be kept for three years, and all employees’ time and attendance records will be kept for three years.


Title: Washington Peace Officer Status for Tribal Police
Parties: State of Washignton and Tribes within the State
Date enacted/published: 2008

Description:

A state law enacted in 2008 (Engrossed House Bill 2476) by the Washington Legislature authorizes certain tribal police officers to exercise general state law enforcement authority. Under certain conditions, certain tribal police officers can act as general authority Washington peace officers: “A tribal police officer recognized and authorized to act as a general authority Washington peace officer under this section (section 2[1]) has the same powers as a general authority Washington police officer to enforce state laws in Washington, including the power to make arrests for violations of state laws.” The act requires that qualifying tribal police officers are commissioned as tribal law enforcement officers who are employed by a federally recognized tribe to enforce tribal law and who have been trained and certified by the Criminal Justice Training Commission. Meeting the latter conditions, a tribal police officer will be allowed to exercise Washington general law enforcement authority on and off the reservation lands and can arrest nontribal suspects. The act is written as a blanket alternative to cross-deputization between state and tribal police forces. However, the possibilities of cross-deputization are not affected or constrained by the act. The act is codified in Revised Code of Washington 10: Criminal Procedure.



Wisconsin

Title: State Gaming Appropriations and Policing Grants
Parties: State of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Indian Tribes
Date enacted/published: 1999

Description:

In response to new obligations created by Public Law 280, in 1995 the Wisconsin Legislature enacted funding support for counties with law enforcement obligations on reservations within their boundaries. Each qualifying county was allocated $2,500 per year. The counties applied for the funds and were required to show need. From 1955 to 1985, the counties were eligible for a maximum of $2,500. During the 1980s, maximum funding was increased to $7,500. Two pilot programs were funded to support cooperative law enforcement relations between counties and tribes.

In 1999, Wisconsin Act 9 shifted funding for the cooperative county-tribal law enforcement program to tribal gaming revenues. Act 9 also created funding for two new programs: the county law enforcement and tribal law enforcement assistants programs. The shift to gaming revenues allowed the state government to reallocate previous funding streams based on penalty assessments and general program funding. The intended use of tribal gaming revenue is specified in the gaming compacts with individual tribes. Several tribes requested tribal law enforcement as a target for redistribution of gaming revenues. The governor developed a tribal law enforcement program that was available to any tribe or band in the state, not just the tribes that specified tribal law enforcement funding in their gaming compacts.

For additional information contact:
Wisconsin Department of Justice
(608) 266-1221
leg.council@legis.state.wi.us