NCAI - VAWA ACTION ALERT - Tell House VAWA Bill Does Not Meet the Needs of Indian Country

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2/25/13 iCloud Mail - VAWA ACTION ALERT: Tell House: "VAWA Bill Does Not Meet the Needs of Indian Country"

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February 25, 2013

Tell the House of Representatives the House

Leadership VAWA Bill Does Not Meet the Needs ofIndian Country

On Friday, House leadership filed legislation which it intends to consider on Wednesday.Unfortunately, this legislation would change the strong bipartisan Senatepassed versionof the bill, S. 47 the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 in key

areas, which roll back current law and take a defendantbased protection approach toaddress a serious epidemic of unfettered domestic abuse on Indian reservations. NCAIreleased a statement in opposition to the proposed House language this past Friday.

The solution is simple. We need tribal leaders and advocates to make their voices heard,and tell Congress that 'Sovereignty is the solution; not the problem' and that tribessimply need jurisdiction to protect women. Also, tell them if a House compromise mustbe made, the sensible solution is H.R. 780, which was recently introduced byCongressman Darrell Issa (RCA49) and appropriately balances defendants' rights withthe urgent need to protect Native women from unfettered violence (See SensibleSolution for House Leadership section below for more on H.R. 780).

For a List of Your House Representatives, click here.

For a Sample Letter to Fax or Email, click here.

The House Leadership Bill Rolls Back Current Law

The recently proposed language from the House would roll back current law regardingtribal courts' protection order jurisdiction. Currently, this is the only local and effective

recourse Native women victims of violence arguably have against nonIndian

VAWA ACTION ALERT: Tell House: "VAWA Bill Does Not Meet the Needs of Indian Country"

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perpetrators.

The 2000 VAWA Reauthorization included language which made it clear that every Indiantribe had full civil authority to issue and enforce protection orders against allindividuals.

The proposed language in the House would restrict this jurisdiction significantly. Tribeswould need to seek certification through the Attorney General to exercise this civilauthority, and then the tribe would only retain the authority to issue protection ordersover nonIndians if: they live or work on the reservation; or if they are, or have been, inan intimate relationship with a tribal member. This last requirement adds an unjust andunnecessary burden of proof to victims seeking immediate assistance from their localcourts.

Also, the law as drafted would subject Indian tribes to federal statutes meant toapply to States, including numerous processes and procedures, which would apply on topof the tribal court's own practices and procedures (for specific examples, see discussionbelow). This additional layer of processes and procedures will inevitably serve tofrustrate justice in tribal courts, which are already subject to a strong and provenfederal framework: the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968.

The Proposed House Special Domestic Violence Jurisdiction isUnworkable and Would Frustrate Justice in Tribal Courts

Further, while the Senate bill recognizes an Indian tribe's selfgovernance authority toprotect Native women victims of violence, it adds additional protections for nonIndiandefendants. Unfortunately, while the House bill offers unworkable federal oversight oftribal courts.

The recently proposed House legislation would add:

A certification process by the Attorney General's Office for tribes to exercise this'special domestic violence jurisdiction' over nonIndians, even though theDepartment of Justice already drafted the bipartisanpassed Senate version of thebill;A 1year sentencing limitation on tribal courts for crimes covered under the Act,even where the same crime if prosecuted in federal court would requireharsher sentencing;A federal removal provision that may be exercised by either the defendant or aUnited States Attorney, and subjects tribes to the same procedures and processesas states;A different set of Habeus Corpus guidelines, outside of the Indian Civil Rights Act,to abide by as States;An interlocutory appeal process, as well as a direct review of the final judgment;A right for tribes to be sued, which will provide even more opportunities forperpetrators to abuse tribal court systems; andA duty for the Attorney General to appoint not less than 10 qualified tribalprosecutors as special prosecutors, with a preference given to Indian tribes thatare not exercising this special domestic violence jurisdiction.

Time and time again, Indian tribes have proven that they are most efficient when theyoperate their own governance. The current Administration has continued a strong policytowards selfdetermination and selfgovernance, and Congress should not sway from this

olic now.


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The Sensible Solution for House LeadershipTwo weeks ago, Congressman Darrell Issa (RCA49) introduced H.R. 780, which is asensible solution to the concerns expressed by House Leadership. Currently, this billcontinues to receive support from House membership. This bill would take thebipartisanpassed Senate bill, which provides a full panoply of protections fordefendants, and add one additional measure the right for the defendant to remove his

case to federal court, upon a showing that the tribal court violated one of theseprotections.

For an easy to read chart of how these protections are provided through theSenatepassed bill and H.R. 780, click here.

In this manner, the Indian tribe retains jurisdiction, pledges to carry out justice in amanner consistent with state courts, and avoid undue judicial delay in administeringjustice for Native women victims of violence.

This Issa/Cole bill is the sensible solution because it begins with the question: 'How doesCongress protect Native women?' and answers it in a sensible manner; rather than thealternative question, 'How does Congress protect alleged domestic abusers that evadeprosecution because they abuse Indians on the reservation?'

Please call your representatives in Congress and tell them you oppose the proposedHouse substitute for S.47 and urge them to support H.R. 780 as the House compromiseto the Senate bill. It is the sensible approach that recognizes tribal selfgovernance andprotects Native women, while appropriately balancing defendants' rights.

For further questions or concerns, please contact NCAI Staff Attorney, Derrick Beetso at(202) 4667767 [email protected].

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indianand Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding

American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and r ights.

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NCAI - VAWA ACTION ALERT - Tell House VAWA Bill Does Not Meet the Needs of Indian Country