grow your tribal justice system

Guides & Manuals

This manual is a guide for tribal and community leaders who want to develop joint-jurisdiction courts or initiatives in their own communities, as it explains the process used in one Minnesota community and adopted by other jurisdictions.
C2R24_BJA-Manual.pdf


A handbook for developing a tribal juvenile healing to wellness court. This resource provides guidance in planning and implementing the court and providing services for tribal youth.
C2R23_jh2w_court_handbook.pdf

Guide for drafting tribal domestic violence codes. This is the revised and updated (February 2015) Guide for Drafting or Revising Victim-Centered Tribal Laws Against Domestic Violence.
C2R19_Amended%20Domestic_Violence_Code_Resource_2015.pdf
Sample participant handbook for Joint Jurisdiction Wellness Court.

C2R9_Cass-County-Wellness-Court-Participant-Handbook (1).pdf
This guide provides tribal court judges with information about how community supervision can benefit tribal justice systems.
C2R28_TPOTCJ.pdf
This guide discusses the rationale for, objectives of, and implementation procedures for tribal-state-local collaboration to produce better outcomes for tribal crime victims.
C2R21_crossing-the-bridge-tribal-state-local-collaboration.pdf
This is a guide for Native nations interested in drafting or revising tribal laws under the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) sentencing- enhancement provisions or the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization of 2013, which pertains to Special Criminal Domestic Violence Jurisdiction.
C2R25_TLOA-VAWA-Guide.pdf



Public Law 2801 (PL 280), enacted by Congress in 1953, gives certain named states criminal and civil jurisdiction on reservations and withdraws most of the federal government’s responsibility for criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. PL 280 also allowed other states to opt into this jurisdictional arrangement, although since 1968 the states have only been able to do so with the affected tribes’ consent. PL 280 did not eliminate any tribal jurisdiction over criminal or civil matters. States that are covered by PL 280, either because they were named in the original act or they subsequently opted in, can ask to be removed from PL 280 jurisdiction, a process known as “retrocession.”
C2R20_Promising Strategies 280 Final 3-13(1).pdf

With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) has developed the following additional Tribal Healing to Wellness Court–specific resource publications to assist tribal governments and tribal justice systems in developing, enhancing, and sustaining Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts. These resources are available for free download at home.tlpi.org, on the Tribal Court Clearinghouse website (www.tlpi.org) and TLPI’s website, devoted solely to Healing to Wellness Courts: www.WellnessCourts.org

C2R22_THWC Judicial Bench Book May 2016(3).pdf
2nd edition of the Project TEAM Joint Jurisdiction Manual; includes lessons learned from the first Joint Jurisdiction Wellness Courts and pilot sites; tips for creating collaborative courts; sample policy and procedure manuals and MOUs;
C2R14_BJA Manual 2nd Ed_ (v1)(1).pdf