In article <25eb5b$svc@daisy.cc.utexas.edu>
baylor@daisy.cc.utexas.edu (Baylor) writes:
> "Not all eligible cases are heard in tribal court. Some
> of the more severe cases may be referred to federal court due to
> the fact that the maximum sentence tribal court can issue is one
> year imprisonment or up to $5,000 in fines."
> For those who know other Nations laws: is this something
> peculiar to the Cherokee (that is, that's all they want to press)
> or does the US keep tribal courts from imposing harsher sentences?
This is dictated by the Indian Civil Rights Act. It was originally
only 6 months and $1,000 in fines, but was recently amended and raised
to present limits.
However, the prosecution of cases in tribal court with its limited
ability to punish, does not prohibit concurrent jurisdiction of the
Federal Courts. That is there is no "Double Jeapordy" because a tribal
court's power is perceived as *not* being delegated by the Federal
Government, but to be derived from an inherent sovereignty preceding
the U.S. Constitution. Thus, an "Indian", as defined by the Federal
Government can be tried for the same crime and receive sentencing by
both the tribe in whose territory they commit the crime and again, by
the United States.
--- Jacqueline.F.Keeler@Dartmouth.edu