When issuing an order, the tribal court should do so in writing. This promotes clarity and fairness to all parties involved and creates a record for the court’s decision. Included are links to HotDocs to help your tribe create appropriate orders. Each court should ensure that their orders meet the requirements set out in the Tribe’s tribal code. If you use a template to help draft your order, modifying the order so that it reflects the requirements that are in the Tribe’s codes is important to ensure that your order complies with your tribal law.
When asking the state to enforce an order, i.e. issue a birth certificate, recognize a marriage, enforce a protective order, etc., the Tribe must have jurisdiction and provide due process.
ALSC has created templates and fact sheets for various types of tribal court orders.
Custody
Below is a template created for tribal court final custody orders. The template is in Word format so each Tribe can customize it on a case by case basis.
Child Support
The child support order template is in Word format so it can be customized for each tribal court case.
Domestic Violence
A Tribe can play a significant role in protecting its citizens who are experiencing domestic violence by issuing Tribal Domestic Violence Orders or Orders of Protection. To help understand what this process entails, ALSC has created a Judge’s Guide to Tribal Domestic Violence Orders.
Two types of domestic violence orders are typical. One is an Emergency Domestic Violence Protective Order–which lasts 20 days. The second is a Long Term Domestic Violence Protective Order. Samples of both are available in PDF format below: