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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFor the second year in a row, the Indiana House Judiciary Committee has endorsed legislation to extend full faith and credit to tribal orders issued in Indiana by the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians.
House Bill 1441 received unanimous support in the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Authored by Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, the legislation also would require the Pokagon band to recognize orders from Indiana state courts.
DeLaney’s bill advanced through the Indiana House during the 2020 session of the General Assembly but stalled and eventually died in the Senate. Some senators wanted to research the concept of tribal court full faith and credit, so the matter was sent to the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary, DeLaney previously told IL.
The lawmaker reintroduced the legislation in the 2021 session with the support of the interim study committee. In the Judiciary Committee, HB 1441 received no opposition from lawmakers or the public.
“It just makes sense,” said Kerry Hyatt Bennett, chief legal counsel for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She noted that Native American women suffer the highest rates of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault among all populations.
Further, Bennett added, the concept of full faith and credit is enshrined in the Constitution, and federal statute provides explicit full faith and credit to protective orders issued by the states. Also, 44 states already extend full faith and credit to tribal courts, she said.
Michigan, in particular, enforces court orders from 12 federally recognized tribes, said Annette Nickel, prosecutor for the Pokagon Band. The Wolverine State has been extending full faith and credit to tribal courts since 1996, she said.
Nickel emphasized that the full faith and credit agreement would be mutual, requiring the Pokagon band to recognize orders from Indiana state courts. That mutual benefit will make it easier on practitioners in both settings, she said.
With the support of the Judiciary Committee, HB 1441 will now head to the full House for further discussion, possible amendment and a vote.
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