Judge opens police contracting to tribes in PL 280 states

Monday, October 31, 2011  

A federal judge has struck down an unwritten Bureau of Indian Affairs policy that barred tribes in Public Law 280 states from entering into self-determination contracts for law enforcement.

The Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians sought law enforcement funds to combat crime on its remote reservation in southern California. But the BIA claimed it didn't have enough money to enter into a contract with the tribe under the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act.

An administrative proceeding, however, discovered the main reason -- California is a Public Law 280 state. The law, which was passed during the termination era, granted criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country to the state.

The tribe responded with a lawsuit that challenged the unwritten BIA policy. The federal government denied the existence of the policy but Judge Anthony J. Battaglia said it was clear Public Law 280 was the "sole reason" that the contract was denied.

"The court finds that defendants’ unwritten policy of denying law enforcement funding to tribes in P.L. 280 states violates the ISDEAA, the Administrative Procedures Act, and plaintiff’s right to equal protection of the law,' Battaglia wrote in a 14-page decision on Friday.

Battaglia noted that the BIA has provided law enforcement funds to at least three tribes whose reservations span California, Nevada and Arizona. He also cited a list in which tribes in other Public Law 280 states -- Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida -- entered into self-determination contracts.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case, Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians v. Salazar.