§2810 Assistant United States Attorney Tribal Liaisons

Summary

The U.S. Attorney for every district that includes Indian country must appoint at least one assistant U.S. Attorney to serve as a tribal liaison. The tribal liaison must coordinate federal prosecutions in Indian country; build teams to fight child abuse and domestic and sexual violence; work with tribal justice officials, tribal leaders, and victims’ advocates to clear prosecution backlogs and share information; coordinate with tribal prosecutors when tribes have shared jurisdiction and before any statute of limitations runs out; give technical help and training on evidence and victim and witness protection; run training to certify special law enforcement commissions; coordinate with the Office of Tribal Justice; and do other actions the U.S. Attorney finds useful to prevent violent crime. Each U.S. Attorney may also appoint Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys under 28 U.S.C. 543(a) to help prosecute crimes in Indian country, especially when the local crime rate or the rate of declined prosecutions is above the national average. U.S. Attorneys are encouraged to work with courts on scheduling Indian country cases, to train and supervise those Special Assistants, to support tribal courts, and, Congress says, to consult tribal justice officials when making such appointments.