Story at a glance
- The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a unanimous decision that non-Native Americans on tribal lands may be stopped by tribal police if the persons are suspected of violating state or federal law.
- The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled that non-Native Americans can only be stopped by tribal police in the event of an “obvious” crime.
- “To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the court’s ruling.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a unanimous decision that non-Native Americans on tribal lands may be stopped by tribal police if the persons are suspected of violating state or federal law.
Justices reversed a lower court ruling that favored a non-Native motorist charged with drug offenses after tribal police searched his vehicle on a public road that intersects the Montana Crow reservation, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Officer James Saylor of the Crow Tribe Police Department in 2016 found driver Joshua Cooley parked on the side of U.S. Route 212 with the engine running, according to the AP. Cooley allegedly had bloodshot eyes and was in possession of two rifles, a handgun and methamphetamine.
Cooley received federal charges, including one count of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, as well as one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Reuters reported.
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Although Saylor alerted authorities who eventually arrested Cooley, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that non-Native people can only be stopped by tribal police in the event of an “obvious” crime. The initial ruling also placed an additional constraint on tribal police that would require them to establish whether a person was Native American — a rule that would “produce an incentive for a person to lie,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote.
Breyer continued that Tuesday’s ruling will increase public safety by allowing tribal police to detain suspects while alerting state or federal authorities, according to the outlet.
“To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats,” Breyer wrote.
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