Legal Issues

Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction

  • Criminal Jurisdiction in Indian Country, Tribal Law and Policy Institute
    This webpage provides a general introduction to criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country, including major federal laws and major federal cases impacting criminal jurisdiction.

Due Process and Other Legal Issues

Ethics

  • Ethical Considerations for Judges and Attorneys in Drug Court, Judge Karen Freeman-Wilson, Prof. Robert Tuttle, and Susan P. Weinstein, NDCI (2001).
    Drug courts require dramatic changes to the roles typically played by judges and attorneys. This publication details issues particular to drug courts through commentary of selected provisions of the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Standards for Criminal Justice.
     
  • Ethical Obligations of Judges in Drug Courts, William G. Meyer, The Drug Court Judicial Benchbook, National Drug Court Institute, Chapter 10 (2011).
    This chapter discusses common concerns of the Drug Court Judge, including the private conduct of the judge, disqualification and recusal, ex parte communications, etc. 
    View the NDCI Drug Court Judicial Benchbook in its entirety here. 

Confidentiality 

  • Federal Confidentiality Laws and How They Affect Drug Court Practitioners, Judge Jeffrey Tauber, Susan P. Weinstein, and David Tauber, NDCI (1999).
    Most conflicts between confidentiality and drug court procedures can be resolved through the use of consent forms, drafted and executed in accordance with confidentiality regulations. This monograph is focused on federal confidentiality laws, geared towards assisting drug courts to implement procedures that will not only satisfy federal confidentiality requirements, but also to effectuate the practitioner’s need to share information.
  • Confidentiality, William G. Meyer, The Drug Court Judicial Benchbook, National Drug Court Institute, Chapter 9 (2011).
    This chapter discusses the role of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in Drug Court, including what information is protected and what information can be shared. 
    View the NDCI Drug Court Judicial Benchbook in its entirety here. 
  • Confidentiality and Communication, A Guide to the Federal Drug & Alcohol Confidentiality Law and HIPAA, Legal Action Ctr. (2006).
    The new 2014 supplemental insert contains updates that incorporate the HITECH Act final rules amending key components of the HIPAA privacy and security requirements, that went into effect in September 2013. The 2012 edition features a new section on electronic health record systems, including Health Information Exchange (HIE) systems, that: explains both sets of FAQs that SAMHSA issued on HIEs; provides new model forms that specifically apply to e-health systems; helps primary care providers participating in HIEs understand if they are covered by 42 C.F.R. Part 2; helps addiction treatment providers that fall under Part 2 understand how to comply in e-health environments; and explains what essential capabilities providers should look for before joining e-health systems. The book also provides new information about how to apply the confidentiality rules to: broadened privacy protections under the new HITECH Act; screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT); Security cameras on programs’ premises; the relationship between the Dep’t of Transportation regulations regarding alcohol and drug testing and reporting and 42 C.F.R. Part 2; and prescription monitoring programs.

Ex Parte Communications


Presentations 

  • Indian Country Legal Implications
    Hon. Joseph Flies-Away and Hon. Carrie Garrow
    Presented at the 21st Annual National Association of Drug Court Professionals Conference ~ July 27-30, 2015 ~ National Harbor, MD

What is a Violent Offender?
Many Department of Justice grant funding available to Healing to Wellness Courts and Drug Courts, limits eligible participants nonviolent offenders.

The term “violent offender” means a person who—
(1) is charged with or convicted of an offense that is punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, during the course of which offense or conduct—

(A) the person carried, possessed, or used a firearm or dangerous weapon;
(B) there occurred the death of or serious bodily injury to any person; or
(C) there occurred the use of force against the person of another, without regard to whether any of the circumstances described in subparagraph (A) or (B) is an element of the offense or conduct of which or for which the person is charged or convicted; or

(2) has 1 or more prior convictions for a felony crime of violence involving the use or attempted use of force against a person with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm.

b) Definition for purposes of juvenile drug courts

For purposes of juvenile drug courts, the term “violent offender” means a juvenile who has been convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for, a felony-level offense that—

(1) has as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or the possession or use of a firearm; or

(2) by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

42 U.S.C. Sec. 3797 u-2.

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If you have Wellness Court code or case law that you would be willing to share with the field, please email Wellness@tlpi.org
Learn more at Wellness Court Resources

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