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      -        Congressional                                              ______
            *.Research Service
                inforrng  thel egisltive debate since 1914_________________




High Court to Review Tribal Police Search

and Seizure Case



Updated April 1, 2021
Update: On March  23, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the tribal police search and
seizure case covered in this post, United States v. Cooley. The case challenges a tribal police officer's
authority to make a traffic stop, detain, and investigate a non-Indian on non-tribal land within a tribe's
reservation in the absence of an apparent or obvious violation offederal or state law. During oral
arguments, the Justices raised concerns about possible risks to public safety. Justices Breyer andAlito
each pointed out the difficulty that tribal officers may confront in determining who is an Indian subject to
tribal investigative authority. Justice Kavanaugh noted that dicta in Supreme Court cases have guided
... law enforcement for several decades to act based on the following understanding (summarized in
Cohen's Handbook  on Federal Indian Law):
        The Supreme Court has consistently reaffirmed the authority of tribal police to arrest offenders
        within Indian country and detain themuntil they can be turned over to the proper authorities, even
        if the tribe itself would lackcriminal jurisdiction.
The Court also discussed the implications of relying on the cross-designation statute to deputize tribal
law enforcement officers to performfederal law enforcement duties.
A decision in United States v. Cooley is expected before the Court's summer recess.
The original post from December 14, 2020, is below.

On November   20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court added United States v. Cooley to the cases it will hear
this term. Cooley brings into focus the jurisdictional maze complicating criminal law enforcement on
Indian reservations. The Court is to evaluate whether (or to what extent) a tribal police officer may detain
and search a non-Indian on a public highway running through an Indian reservation. More specifically,
the parties disagree about the scope of a tribal police officer's authority to investigate-through
questioning or search-when  criminal behavior is reasonably suspected, but is not apparent or
obvious. This case implicates the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and
seizures, but it also raises questions about the scope of tribal sovereignty and tribes' authority to protect
their lands and members from criminal activity. Congress may wish to consider legislation to clarify the
rights and responsibilities of tribal and non-Indian parties when conflicts like this arise.


                                                                  Congressional Research Service
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