Alliance Will Fight Tribal Jurisdiction Group Takes On Legal Defense Of Two Non-Indians Issued Traffic Tickets By Tribal Police

The North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance has agreed to take on the legal defense of two non-Indians who were issued traffic tickets by tribal police on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

The alliance - a coalition of 22 counties, cities, school and highway districts - contests the jurisdictional claims of the Nez Perce Tribe.

“We are not anti-Indian; we are not headhunters. We’re just looking for jurisdictional rights,” Bill Schmidt, representing the city of Nezperce, said at an alliance meeting Thursday.

Pamela Scott of Orofino and Frank Zimmerman of Kamiah were issued citations for traffic infractions and summoned to appear in tribal court.

Scott said she was driving on U.S. Highway 12 toward Lewiston when she was stopped by a tribal police officer who issued her a citation for having no taillights. While she was pulled over an Idaho State Police trooper arrived and fixed a fuse that was causing her taillights to malfunction.

Zimmerman was stopped while traveling through Kamiah and cited for having a broken taillight and failing to produce proof of insurance. He initially said he would challenge the tribe’s jurisdiction. But he later agreed to let an attorney from the alliance represent him in tribal court.

Alliance Chairman Dan Johnson said an attorney will argue that the charges should be dropped and the cases dismissed because the tribe does not have jurisdiction over non-tribal members.

The alliance has sent a letter to Attorney General Alan Lance asking him to look into the matter. But Nez Perce Tribal Police Chief Tom Idol said Friday he is confident his department has legal authority to issue citations to non-Indians because traffic infractions are civil matters, not criminal.

“The law is the law. We are here to serve the public no matter who it is within the boundaries of the reservation,” Idol said.

Because of the dispute over jurisdiction, Idol said his department is pursuing cross-deputization with other law enforcement agencies that operate within the boundaries of the reservation.

That would involve tribal police deputizing officers from city police departments and county sheriff’s departments. In exchange, the cities and counties would deputize tribal officers.

Until the agreements are in place, Idol said, “as a matter of policy we will not be citing non-Indian drivers into tribal court for violations, even though we believe we have jurisdiction to do so.”

Idol said if a driver’s actions pose a threat to public safety, his officers will make a stop and contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.