2014 National Survey of Tribal Court Systems: Code of Federal Regulations Courts

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Form NSTCS-14CFR

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U.S. Department of Justice
Bureau of Justice Statistics

RETURN TO

Kauffman and Associates
PO Box 15179
Washington, DC 20003-9998

2014 National Survey of Tribal Court Systems:
Code of Federal Regulations Courts

INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY
TRIBAL COURT NAME
NAME
TELEPHONE

TITLE
Area Code

Number

Extension

FAX

Area Code

Number

EMAIL ADDRESS
OFFICIAL TRIBE NAME FOR REPORTED DATA

The information collected in this survey is vitally important for understanding the administrative and operational
needs of your Code of Federal Regulations (CFR court) individually, but also helps in the planning for tribal justice
systems across all tribal, inter-tribal, and Code of Federal Regulations court systems.

DIRECTIONS
• Please review this survey in its entirety before completion, as several sections will require gathering
administrative information from various components within the tribal justice system.
• Please consult with justice system, law enforcement, and finance department representatives as necessary to
obtain information to complete the survey in its entirety.
• INTERTRIBAL COURTS PLEASE NOTE: Fill out a separate survey for each tribe that participates in the
inter-tribal court or ensure that each participating tribe fills out its own survey.
• Your tribe’s responses will not identify you individually. We ask for your name and contact information above in
case any of the survey items need clarification.

UPON COMPLETION OF THE SURVEY
You may complete and submit your survey using any one of the following three options:
• Mail: NSTCS, c/o Kauffman & Associates, Inc, PO Box 15179, Washington, DC 20003-9998
• Fax: 301-588-6801
• Email: [email protected]
If you have questions or need assistance, you may call toll free and leave a message at 1-877-528-4025 or send an
email message to [email protected]. A member of our survey administration team will respond promptly.
Thank you for your cooperation in this important data collection effort. Your responses are critically important to
the success of this survey.
The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended (42 USC 3732), authorizes this information collection. This request for
information is in accordance with the clearance requirement of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1908, as amended (44 USC 3507). The burden
of this data collection is estimated to average 2.1 hours per response, including time to review instructions, gather the information needed,
and enter and review the information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this data collection, including
suggestions on how to reduce this burden, to the Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531. Do
NOT send your completed survey to this address.

†† c. Federal Law Enforcement other than BIA: (Provide
name of agency or agencies)

Section A: Administration and Operation
This survey gathers information on the various components
of court system, including law enforcement, the court,
and corrections. Courts of Indian Offenses (also known as
Code of Federal Regulations Courts) are courts operated
by the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, on
certain reservations. These courts operate under federal
regulations contained in Title 25, Part 11, of the Code of
Federal Regulations and for this reason are often referred to
as “CFR courts.”

†† d. State/county (including county sheriff or state
troopers): (Provide name of agency or agencies)

†† e. City: (Provide name of agency or agencies)

DIRECTIONS: For survey items requesting case count
information, please provide the total number of cases filed
by your CFR court during the calendar year 2014. Use the
following definition to determine case numbers:
A filed case is a set of all charges against a single
defendant filed with the court on a single day. A case with
three defendants should be counted as three cases, but a
case with one defendant with multiple charges should be
counted as one case.

A.4 How long (in years) has your CFR court been
operational?
Number of years:
A.5 How many civil cases were filed in your CFR court in
calendar year 2014?

NOTE: If you are unable to provide the actual case count
number, please provide your best estimate.

a. Traffic cases:

If the case count is none, enter “0” as your answer.

 Do not track these case numbers

If you do not track this information, please check the “Do
not track these case numbers” checkbox.

b. Non-traffic cases
 Do not track these case numbers

A.1 Which tribes are under the jurisdiction of this Code of
Federal Regulations Court (CFR court)? (Please specify.)

A.6 Over what type(s) of defendant does your CFR court
exercise criminal jurisdiction? (Select all that apply.)
 a. Tribal members
 b. Nonmember Indians

A.2 Do any of the tribes noted in A.1 above also operate a
separate tribal court?

A.7 How many criminal cases were filed in your CFR court
in calendar year 2014?

†† Yes (Please identify which ones)

 Do not track these case numbers
A.8 How many of these criminal cases filed in your tribal
court in calendar year 2014 involved a non-Indian
defendant?

†† No
A.3 Which law enforcement agencies provide a policing or
criminal investigative function on the Indian country
(as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151 and by Federal court
precedent) over which your CFR court has jurisdiction?
(Select all that apply.)

 Do not track these case numbers
A.9 During 2014, excluding juveniles, what was the total
number of defendants sentenced to the following?
(Write “N/A” for your answer if this does not apply.)

†† a. Tribal: (Provide name of agency or agencies)

a. Jail or prison terms
b. Probation without jail or
prison terms

†† b. B
 ureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): (Provide name of
agency or agencies)

2

A.10 How many convictions for DUI/DWI offenses were
issued by your CFR court in calendar year 2014? (If
your justice system does DUI/DWI offenses. (Write
“N/A” for your answer.)

†† d. Monthly
†† e. More than once a month
†† f. Other: (Please describe)

a. DUI/DWI Offenses:
A.11 What are the available sanctions issued by the CFR
court for DUI/DWI convictions? (Select all that apply.)

A.16 What was the fiscal year (FY) 2014 operational
budget of your CFR court for adjudication functions,
excluding capital outlays for construction?1 (If you are
unable to provide the actual number please provide
your best estimate.)
$

†† a. Revoke driving privileges on the reservation
only
†† b. S uspension of driving privileges in the entire
state, including reservation
†† c. Counseling

A.17 Did any of the following sources provided funding for
your CFR court operations during 2014?

†† d. Fines
†† e. Jails
†† f. Other: (Please describe)

A.12 Does your CFR court share DUI/DWI conviction
information with state administering agencies (for
example: the Motor Vehicle Authority, DMV, etc.)?
†† a. Yes
†† b. No
A.13 Which of the following does your CFR court
recognize as acceptable evidence to determine Blood
Alcohol Content (BAC)? (Select all that apply.)
†† a. Breathalyzer

Source
a. Tribal appropriations
b. Self-Governance Compact
c. Public Law 93-638 Contract
d. Other BIA funding
e. Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation
(CTAS) funding from the U.S. Department
of Justice (DOJ)
f. DOJ grants, other than CTAS funding
g. Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA)
h. Other federal funding
i. State funding
j. Private foundations
k. Fines and other court costs
l. Other grant funding: (Please describe)

Yes

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No
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m. Other: (Please describe)





†† b. Blood tests
†† c. Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST)
†† d. Implied Consent
†† e. Other (Please describe)

1 Operating expenditures or budgets are defined as all recurring fixed and

variable costs associated with the management and administration of
your system. It does not include nonrecurring fixed capital costs such as
building construction and major equipment purchases.

A.14 Is there an entity that supervises conditions of release
imposed on defendants by your CFR court?
†† a. Yes
†† b. No
A.15 How often does your CFR court hold sessions or hear
cases?
†† a. Daily
†† b. Weekly
†† c. More than once a week

3

A.18 Were any of the following positions and services were
funded totally or in part by your CFR court’s operating
budget in 2014?
Core court positions and services
a. Magistrates (law school graduate)
b. Magistrates (non-law school graduate)
c. Prosecution/prosecutors (law school graduate)
d. Prosecution/prosecutors (non-law school
graduate)
e. Indigent defense services/public defender (law
school graduate)
f. Indigent defense services/public defender
(non-law school graduate)
g. Administration/court clerks
h. Bailiffs
i. Probation/parole
j. Law clerks
k. Court staff attorney
l. ICWA worker (child welfare)*
m. Juvenile services
n. Mental health treatment
o. Alcohol and drug treatment
p. Electronic monitoring program
q. Victim services/victim assistance services
r. A
 lternative to Incarceration programming and/
or staff

Yes

No

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



A.20 How many of the following types of personnel were
employed by your CFR court in calendar year 2014?
NOTE: “Part-time” refers to any employee who works fewer
than 40 hours per week and includes job sharing. If you are
unable to provide the actual number, provide your best
estimate. If none, enter “0.” If a particular position does not
exist in your court, enter “N/A.”

Staff position
a. Tribal judges (law school graduate)
b. Tribal judges (non-law school
graduate)
c. Trial magistrate
d. Appellate court magistrate (law
school graduate)
e. Appellate court magistrate (nonlaw school graduate)
f. Parole or probation officer
g. Court administrator
h. Pretrial services staff
i. Community resources specialist
j. Court clerk
k. Court reporter
l. Staff attorney (does not include
prosecutor or public defender)
m. Law clerk
n. Tribal elder/peacemaker/other
traditional forum staff
o. Support staff
p. Other (Please describe)

*The Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1902.

A.19 Which qualifications are required in order to serve
in the following CFR court positions? (Select all that
apply.)
Appellate
Trial
court
magistrates magistrates
a. Tribal member
b. Age minimum or maximum
c. Proficiency in native language
d. No felony conviction
e. Residency requirement
f. Accredited law school graduate
g. Member of state bar/licensed to
practice law by state where the
CFR court is located
h. M
 ember of tribal bar/
licensed to practice law by tribe
i. Admitted to practice in federal
court
j. No requirements for position









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

Number of court
employees or
consultants
Full- Part- Volunteer/
time time unpaid
paid paid* appointee

q. TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
*Part-time refers to any employee or consultant who works fewer
than 40 hours per week and includes job sharing.

A.21 How are the following CFR court personnel selected
for their positions? (Select all that apply.)

a. Tribal Court
Judge
b. Magistrate
c. Appellate
magistrate
d. Court
administrator
e. Clerk of the court

4

Hired
Hired
under
as a BIA
contract employee

Appointed

Elected



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

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

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

A.22 Does your CFR court currently have a victim service
program?

 Do not track these case numbers
b. Civil:

†† a. Yes

 Do not track these case numbers

†† b. No (GO TO ITEM A24)

Section C: Prosecution and Indigent Defense

A.23 During 2014, did your CFR court receive federal and/
or state funding for victim services or programs?
(Select all that apply.)

C.1 Does your CFR court currently have a tribal prosecutor
or prosecutor’s office?

†† a. Federal
†† b. State

†† a. Yes

†† c. No outside funding was received.

†† b. No (GO TO C3)
C.2 How many prosecutors were employed in your CFR
court in calendar year 2014?

A.24 Does your CFR court rely on county or local
government social service agencies for court-ordered
treatment in juvenile and/or family cases?

NOTE: “Part-time” refers to any employee who works
fewer than 40 hours per week and includes job sharing.
If you are unable to provide the actual number, provide
your best estimate. If none, enter “0.” If a particular
position does not exist in your court, enter “N/A.”

†† a. Yes
†† b. No

Section B: Appellate System

Volunteer/
unpaid
Full-time Part-time appointee

DIRECTIONS: For survey items requesting case count
information, please provide the total number of cases filed
by your CFR court during the calendar year 2014. Use the
following definition to determine case numbers:

a. Prosecutors (law school
graduate)
b. Prosecutors (non-law
school graduate
c. TOTAL NUMBER OF
PROSECUTORS

A filed case is a set of all charges against a single
defendant filed with the court on a single day. A case with
three defendants should be counted as three cases, but a
case with one defendant with multiple charges should be
counted as one case.

C.3 Does your CFR court currently have a tribal public
defender or defense office?

NOTE: If you are unable to provide the actual case count
number, please provide your best estimate.

†† a. Yes
†† b. No

If the case count is none, enter “0” as your answer.

C.4 How many public defenders were employed in your
CFR court in calendar year 2014?

If you do not track this information, please check the “Do
not track these case numbers” checkbox.

NOTE: “Part-time” refers to any employee who works
fewer than 40 hours per week and includes job sharing.
If you are unable to provide the actual number, provide
your best estimate. If none, enter “0.” If a particular
position does not exist in your court, enter “N/A.”

B.1 Does your justice system have a court of appeals,
participate in an inter-tribal appellate court, or
otherwise have an appellate process?
†† a. Yes (Please provide the official name of the highest
court of appeals. For example: Indian Court of
Appeals)

Volunteer/
unpaid
Full-time Part-time appointee
a. Public defenders (law
school graduate)
b. Public defenders (non-law
school graduate)
c. TOTAL NUMBER OF PUBLIC
DEFENDERS

 b. No (GO TO SECTION C)
B.2 How many appellate cases were filed in your CFR court
in the calendar year 2014?
a. Criminal:

5

C.5 To whom does your CFR court provide free criminal
defense services?

C.10 Who delivers your CFR court’s free civil legal services?
(Select all that apply.)

†† a. CFR court does not provide free criminal defense
services. (GO TO ITEM C8)

†† a. Tribal public defender program (fixed staff )
†† b. Assigned defender (appointed from a list of
private bar members who accept cases on a
judge-by-judge basis, court-by-court basis, or
case-by-case basis)

†† b. Tribal members
†† c. Nonmember Indians
†† d. Non-Indians

†† c. Contract counsel (nonsalaried private bar
members who contract with the tribal court to
provide court appointed representation in a
jurisdiction)

†† e. Other: (Please describe)

†† d. A neighboring tribal-legal services program

C.6 Are the criteria for free criminal defense services based
on income scale and ability to pay?

†† e. A non-profit legal services program, including
Indian Legal Services

†† a. Yes

†† f. A private law firm or office pro bono program

†† b. No

†† g. Other: (Please describe)

C.7 Who delivers your CFR court’s free criminal defense
services?
†† a. Tribal public defender program (fixed staff )
†† b. A
 ssigned defender (appointed from a list of
private bar members who accept cases on a
judge-by-judge basis, court-by-court basis, or
case-by-case basis)

Section D: Pretrial, Probation and Reentry
Programs and Services
D.1 Does your CFR court operate a pre-trial diversion
program?2

†† c. C
 ontract counsel (nonsalaried private bar
members who contract with the tribal court to
provide court appointed representation in a
jurisdiction)

†† a. Yes
†† b. No (GO TO ITEM D3)

†† d. A neighboring tribal-legal services program

D.2 Does your jurisdiction provide a diversion program
alternative prior to formally charging the defendant
with a crime?

†† e. A
 non-profit legal services program, including
Indian Legal Services
†† f. A private law firm or office pro bono program

†† a. Yes

†† g. Other: (Please describe)

†† b. No
D.3 Does your CFR court operate a pre-trial release
program?3
†† a. Yes

C.8 Does your CFR court provide free civil legal services for
a CFR court appearance?

†† b. No (GO TO ITEM D6)

†† a. Yes

2 Pretrial diversion (PTD) is an alternative to prosecution which seeks to

divert certain offenders from traditional criminal justice processing into a
program of supervision and services administered by the U.S. Probation
Service. In the majority of cases, offenders are diverted at the pre-charge
stage. Participants who successfully complete the program will not be
charged or, if charged, will have the charges against them dismissed;
unsuccessful participants are returned for prosecution.

†† b. No (GO TO SECTION D)
C.9 Are free civil legal services criteria based on income
scale and ability to pay?
†† a. Yes

3 Pretrial release (PTR) is the process of a defendant being released before

†† b. No

trial, with or without conditions. A defendant may be released on his or
her own recognizance or released on non-financial conditions that require
monitoring the defendant in the community. Non-financial conditions
may include regular contact with a pre-trial services program, drug
testing, curfew, or electronic monitoring.

6

D.4 Who carries out your CFR court’s pre-trial service
function? (Select all that apply.)

D.8 How is your CFR court’s probation department
funded? (Select all that apply.)

†† a. Pretrial services personnel

†† a. Federal grant program(s)

†† b. Probation personnel

†† b. Non-federal grant program(s)

†† c. Court administrator

†† c. Tribal budget

†† d. Law enforcement

†† d. Other: (Please describe)

†† e. Other: (Please describe)
D.9 Who oversees the probation function for your CFR
court?

D.5 Which of the following options are provided by your
CFR court regarding the release of a defendant from
detention prior to trial? (Select all that apply.)

†† a. CFR court
†† b. Law enforcement

†† a. Release on your own recognizance (ROR)
†† b. Bail

†† c. Probation is its own department within the tribal
justice system.

†† c. Held pending further hearing or trial

†† d. Corrections

†† d. Other: (Please describe)

†† e. Other: (Please describe)

Items D6–D13 pertain to your CFR court’s probation
program only.

D.10 How many probation officers does your CFR court
employ? (Include combined total for full- and part-time)

D.6 Does your CFR court have a probation program?

If no probation officers are employed, enter “0” as your
answer.

†† a. Yes

D.11 With which non-tribal jurisdiction(s) does your
CFR court probation program work to supervise
individuals who are on community supervision from
multi-systems? (Select all that apply.)

†† b. No (GO TO ITEM D14)
D.7 Who supervises individuals placed on community
supervision by the CFR court? (Select all that apply.)
†† a. A probation officer

†† a. Federal probation

†† b. A
 member of the community (for example: an
elder)

†† b. State probation
†† c. Local/municipal probation

†† c. A member of the probationer’s family

†† d. Private probation

†† d. CFR court judge

†† e. CFR court probation program does not work
with any non-tribal jurisdictions in this area.

†† e. Tribal court judge
†† f. Tribal police officer

D.12 Does your probation program complete and submit
any of the following to the CFR court? (Select all that
apply.)

†† g. Prosecutor
†† h. Court administrator

†† a. Presentence investigation report

†† i. Tribal police officer

†† b. Presentence recommendations

†† j. Nobody; we have unsupervised probation.

†† c. Monthly or periodic case updates

†† k. Other: (Please describe)

†† d. Violation reports
†† e. Other: (Please describe)

7

D.13 What was the total number of probation cases that
were active (both new and on-going) during 2014?

If you do not track this information, please check the “Do
not track these case numbers” checkbox.
E.1 Which type(s) of juvenile law-violating cases4 does your
CFR court handle? (Select all that apply.)

 Do not track these case numbers

†† a. CFR court does not handle juvenile law-violating
cases. (GO TO ITEM E10)

Items D14–D17 pertain to your CFR court’s reentry
program only.

†† b. Juvenile delinquency5

D.14 Does your CFR court supervise individuals coming
out of placement in a secure facility?

†† c. Status offense6 (for example: underage drinking,
tobacco smoking, truancy, running away)

†† a. Yes

†† d. All juvenile law-violating cases are treated as
juvenile dependency7 or child in need of care
matters.

†† b. No (GO TO SECTION E)
D.15 With which facilities does your CFR court work on
reentry supervision? (Select all that apply.)

†† e. Other: (Please describe)

†† a. Federal facilities
†† b. State facilities
†† c. County/municipal facilities

E.2 How many juvenile law-violating cases were filed in
calendar year 2014?

†† d. Tribal facilities (within the tribe)
†† e. Tribal facilities (outside of the tribe)

a. Juvenile delinquency cases

†† f. Other: (Please describe)

 Do not track these case numbers
b. Juvenile status offense cases (for example: underage
drinking, tobacco smoking, truancy, running away)

D.16 Does your CFR court operate a formal reentry
program involved in assisting tribal members
planning to return to your community?

 Do not track these case numbers
E.3 During 2014, what were the total number of juveniles
sentenced to the following? (Write “N/A” for your
answer if this does not apply).

†† a. Yes
†† b. No

a. Incarceration

D.17 Do your tribal communities have transitional living
facilities to assist tribal members returning to the
community?

b. Probation without incarceration
E.4 To which juveniles does your CFR court provide free
legal representation services in juvenile law-violating
cases? (Select all that apply.)

†† a. Yes
†† b. No

†† a. CFR court does not provide free legal
representation services in juvenile cases. (GO TO
ITEM E7)

Section E: Juvenile Cases

†† b. Tribal member juveniles

DIRECTIONS: For survey items requesting case count
information, please provide the total number of cases filed
by your CFR court during the calendar year 2014. Use the
following definition to determine case numbers:

†† c. Nonmember Indian juveniles
†† d. Non-Indian juveniles
4 Any case involving a juvenile offender.

A filed case is a set of all charges against a single
defendant filed with the court on a single day. A case with
three defendants should be counted as three cases, but a
case with one defendant with multiple charges should be
counted as one case.

5 Acts committed by a juvenile that would be considered a criminal offense

if committed by an adult.

6 25 CFR § 11.900(m) - Status offense means an offense which, if

committed by an adult, would not be designated a crime under this part
or under an ordinance of the tribe.
7 For example: Child in Need of Protection or Child in Need of Aid cases.

NOTE: If you are unable to provide the actual case count
number, please provide your best estimate.
If the case count is none, enter “0” as your answer.
8

E.5 Are the criteria for free legal representation services
based on income scale and the family’s ability to pay?

†† i. Removal and placement in a familial or foster
home

†† a. Yes

†† j. Diversion programs

†† b. No

†† k. Curfew
†† l. Other: (Please describe)

E.6 Who provides free legal representation services in
juvenile law-violating cases? (Select all that apply.)
†† a. Tribal public defender program (fixed staff )
†† b. A
 ssigned defender (appointed from a list of
private bar members who accept cases on a
judge-by-judge basis, court-by-court basis, or
case-by-case basis)

E.8 Does your CFR court ever handle juvenile law-violating
cases jointly with the state court (for example: through
a diversion program)?
†† a. Yes

†† c. C
 ontract counsel (nonsalaried private bar
members who contract with the tribal court to
provide court appointed representation in a
jurisdiction)

†† b. No
E.9 Does your CFR court maintain a probation or parole
function for juveniles?

†† d. A neighboring tribal-legal services program

†† a. Yes

†† e. A
 non-profit legal services program, including
Indian Legal Services

†† b. No
E.10 Does your CFR court have or provide access to a
reentry program for tribal juveniles who have been
incarcerated?

†† f. A private law firm or office pro bono program
†† g. Other: (Please describe)

†† a. Yes
†† b. No
Items E11–E15 pertain to child welfare or dependency
matters only.

E.7 Excluding incarceration, which of the following
sentencing options does your CFR court use in
sentencing juveniles for law-violations. (Select all that
apply.)

E.11 Which type(s) of Indian child welfare or dependency
matter(s) 8 does your CFR court handle? (Select all that
apply.)

†† a. No other sentencing options
†† b. D
 rug or alcohol rehabilitation; random drug
testing

†† a. CFR court does not handle Indian child welfare
or dependency matters. (GO TO SECTION F)

†† c. Mental health assessment; counseling or therapy

†† b. Child abuse or neglect

†† d. C
 ommunity service (for example: litter removal
from highways, community testimonials about
underage drinking or drug abuse)

†† c. Foster care placements
†† d. Termination of parental rights
†† e. Pre-adoptive placements

†† e. Fine; restitution

†† f. Adoptive placements

†† f. Victim-offender reconciliation (victim-offender
dialogue)

†† g. Guardianship
†† h. Other: (Please describe)

†† g. Electronic monitoring (For example: alcohol
monitoring bracelet)
†† h. Cultural or traditional alternatives

8 For example: Child in Need of Protection or Child in Need of Aid cases.

9

E.12 What was the total number of child welfare or
dependency cases filed in your CFR court in calendar
year 2014?

Section F: Domestic Violence and Protection
Orders

 Do not track these case numbers

DIRECTIONS: For survey items requesting case count
information, please provide the total number of cases filed
by your CFR court during the calendar year 2014. Use the
following definition to determine case numbers:

E.13 How many Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) cases were
transferred from a state court to your CFR court in
calendar year 2014?

A filed case is a set of all charges against a single
defendant filed in the court on a single day. A case with
three defendants should be counted as three cases, but a
case with one defendant with multiple charges should be
counted as one case.

 Do not track these case numbers
E.14 During 2014, what was the total number of juveniles
sentenced to the following? (Write “N/A” for your
answer if this does not apply.)
a. Incarceration

NOTE: If you are unable to provide the actual case count
number, please provide your best estimate.

b. Probation without incarceration

If the case count is none, enter “0” as your answer.
E.15 Who provides free civil legal representation to
juveniles in dependency matters?

If you do not track this information, please check the “Do
not track these case numbers” checkbox.

†† a. CFR court does not provide free legal
representation services to juveniles in
dependency matters.

F.1 Does your CFR court issue restraining orders and/or
protection orders to protect someone from another
person committing the following acts? (Select all that
apply)

†† b. Tribal public defender program (fixed staff )

†† a. CFR court does not issue restraining orders and/
or protection orders. (GO TO ITEM F6)

†† c. A
 ssigned defender (appointed from a list of
private bar members who accept cases on a
judge-by-judge basis, court-by-court basis, or
case-by-case basis)

†† b. Sexual violence
†† c. Violent or physical act

†† d. C
 ontract counsel (nonsalaried private bar
members who contract with the CFR court to
provide court appointed representation in a
jurisdiction)

†† d. Threatening act
†† e. Harassment
†† f. Contact or communication with the victim

†† e. A neighboring tribal-legal services program

†† g. Physical proximity to another person

†† f. A non-profit legal services program, including
Indian Legal Services

†† h. Stalking
F.2 How many restraining orders and/or protection orders
did your CFR court issue in the calendar year 2014?

†† g. A private law firm or office pro bono program
†† h. Other: (Please describe))

 Do not track these numbers.
F.3 Does the state(s) in which the tribes under the
jurisdiction of this CFR court are located recognize
restraining orders and/or protection orders issued from
the CFR court?

E.16 Do children in dependency cases have access to
Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) and/or Court Appointed
Special Advocate (CASA) services?
†† a. GAL only

†† a. Yes

†† b. CASA only

†† b. No

†† c. Both GAL and CASA

†† c. Not sure/do not know

†† d. No access to either service

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F.4 Does the CFR court enforce violations of valid state or
other tribal court-issued protection orders occurring
on the reservation as if it were the CFR court’s own
order?

Section G: Information Systems Access and
Data Entry
G.1 From what agencies/entities does your CFR court
access electronic data and to what agencies/entities
does your CFR court transmit electronic data? (Select all
that apply.)

†† a. Yes
†† b. No
†† c. Not sure/do not know

CFR court
accesses
electronic
data from

CFR court
transmits
electronic
data to













e. Other tribes
f. Other: (Please describe)









g. None of the above





F.5 During 2014, how many criminal convictions for
violation of protection orders were issued by your CFR
court?
a. Local justice agency (county
or city)
b. State justice agency
c. FBI Criminal Justice Information
Services (CJIS)
d. BIA Office of Justice Services

†† Do not track these case numbers
F.6 How many domestic violence cases were filed in your
CFR court in calendar year 2014?9
 Do not track these case numbers
F.7 Did your CFR court receive any federal or state grants
and/or funding for domestic violence programming in
calendar year 2014?
a. Federal funding
b. State funding

Yes

No







G.2 What method(s) does your CFR court use to manage
cases? (Select all that apply.)

9 Domestic violence refers to violence between married or cohabiting

†† a. Paper files

couples, as well as violence against other members of the offender’s
household, such as children, siblings, parents, elderly relatives, or other
family members of current or past intimate partners

†† b. Basic spreadsheets (for example: Excel, Access)
†† c. Basic text files (for example: Word, WordPerfect)
†† d. An automated case management system
†† e. Other: (Please describe)

G.3 With which of the following is your CFR court
electronically networked for the purpose of
transmitting criminal justice information? (Select all
that apply.)

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a. Justice agencies within your tribe



b. Justice agencies within other tribes



c. Other justice agencies outside of your tribe
(federal, state, local)



The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) provides criminal justice database access and data entry for
criminal justice purposes.
G.4 Indicate which entities in your CFR court system have the ability to conduct the following activities with CJIS. (Select all
that apply.)
The state conducts this
activity through an
CFR court Tribal law
agreement on behalf of
personnel enforcement the tribe
a. Enter court disposition data
b. E nter protective orders into the National Crime
Information Center (NCIC) Protection Order Filea
c. Enter sex offenders into the National Sex Offender
Registry (NSOR)
(NOTE: NCIC file–not NSOPW)b

BIA conducts this
activity on behalf
of the tribe

No access































aThe National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a comprehensive crime-related database by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division

(CJIS).
bThe National Sex Offender Registry is a tracking system maintained and utilized by CJIS and cooperating agencies to track the location of convicted
sex offenders.

G.5 To which of the following criminal history repositories
does your CFR court submit final case disposition
information (for example: convictions, protections
orders)? (Select all that apply.)

G.8 Does your CFR court operate its own victim
notification system?
†† a. Yes

†† a. Tribal repository

†† b. No

†† b. Federal repository (for example: FBI CJIS)

†† c. Not sure/do not know
G.9 Does your CFR court have an agreement with the state
to participate in a state victim notification system?

†† c. State repository
†† d. Local repository

†† a. Yes

†† e. None of the above

†† b. No

G.6 Do tribes under the jurisdiction of this CFR court
maintain a sex offender registry?

†† c. Not sure/do not know
G.10 Does your CFR court maintain a restraining order
and/or protection order registry?

†† a. Yes
†† b. No (GO TO ITEM G8)

†† a. Yes

G.7 How does your CFR court post this registration
information to the sex offender registry? (Select all that
apply.)

†† b. No
†† c. Not sure/do not know

†† a. CFR court posts through the state sex offender
registry (connected to the National Sex Offender
Public Website).

The survey is now complete. Thank you for taking part in
the 2014 National Survey of Tribal Court Systems: Code of
Federal Regulations Courts.

†† b. C
 FR court posts through a tribal sex offender
registry (connected to the National Sex Offender
Public Website).

If you have questions or would like to speak with someone
about your experience, please call toll free and leave a
message at 1-877-528-4025 or send an email message
to [email protected]. A member of our survey
administration team will respond promptly.

†† c. C
 FR court posts through a tribal sex offender
registry (NOT connected to the National Sex
Offender Public Website).

Again, thank you for your cooperation in this important
data collection effort. Your responses are critically
important to the success of this survey.

†† d. C
 FR court does not obtain or post initial sex
offender registry information.
†† e. Other: (Please describe)

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