1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Supreme Court Rules on Authority of Tribal Police to Stop Non-Indians June 11, 2021 On June 1, 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously held in United States v. Cooley (Cooley) that Indian tribal law enforceme
2、nt officers may stop, search, and temporarily detain a non-Indian motorist traveling on a public highway within an Indian reservation if the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the motorist has violated or will violate federal or state law. The Court held that the source of this power is an Indi
3、an tribes retained inherent authority to protect public safety. In reaching this conclusion, the opinion draws upon earlier decisions of the Court, particularly Montana v. United States (Montana). In Montana, the Court noted that, although tribes generally retain no authority over the conduct of non
4、-Indians on fee land within a reservation, they do retain some authority over “conduct that threatens or has some direct effect on . . . the health or welfare of the tribe.” The Supreme Courts decision in Cooley reverses a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit discussed in an e
