When he served as U.S. attorney for South Dakota and chairman of the U.S. Justice Department’s Native American Issues subcommittee, Brendan Johnson learned firsthand the quality of Indian tribal courts. Today, he doesn’t like the picture of tribal justice that a multibillion-dollar corporation is painting for the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I would absolutely feel confident in having a tribal court resolve a civil or criminal case involving myself,” said Johnson who co-chairs the American Indian law and policy group at Robins Kaplan. “In my experience, some of the best judges we have in my state—South Dakota—are tribal judges. I would feel very comfortable appearing or being a party in a tribal court proceeding.”
