Trusting Tribal Courts: More Lawyers is Not Always the Answer

14 L.J. for Soc. Just. at Ariz. St. Univ. 130 (2021)

28 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2021 Last revised: 27 Aug 2021

See all articles by Judith M. Stinson

Judith M. Stinson

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Tara Mospan

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Marnie Hodahkwen

Independent

Date Written: March 4, 2021

Abstract

Many outsiders distrust tribal courts because they assume they will be treated unfairly. This distrust creates a number of problems, including decreasing the effectiveness of tribal judicial systems, inhibiting tribal economic development, and ultimately undermining tribal sovereignty. Critics of tribal courts assert three main justifications for their structural skepticism: first, that tribal courts are “different” from other court systems in the United States; second, that tribal laws and traditions seem foreign and may be difficult to access; and third, that because the qualifications for judges and practitioners in tribal courts sometimes differ from those in other courts, tribal judges and advocates are inferior. Drawing on other scholarship, this article briefly responds to the first two criticisms. This paper then argues that non-lawyer judges and lay advocates can be as effective as law-trained judges and advocates in other court systems. Although it is impossible to eliminate all outsider bias, refuting the claimed justifications should demonstrate that tribal courts are as fair and as competent as non-tribal courts. Therefore, greater confidence in tribal courts is warranted.

Suggested Citation

Stinson, Judith M. and Mospan, Tara and Hodahkwen, Marnie, Trusting Tribal Courts: More Lawyers is Not Always the Answer (March 4, 2021). 14 L.J. for Soc. Just. at Ariz. St. Univ. 130 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3797899

Judith M. Stinson (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

111 E. Taylor St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004-4467
United States

Tara Mospan

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Box 877906
Tempe, AZ 85287-7906
United States

Marnie Hodahkwen

Independent

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