Skip to content
Back to top

California

Cooperative Agreements

Title: Coordinated Adult and Juvenile Probation
Parties: Yurok Tribal Court and Counties of Del Norte and Humboldt, California
Date enacted/published: 2009

Description:

With help from a major grant from U.S. Department of Justice, the Yurok Tribal Court is entering into memoranda of understanding (MOU)with the two local counties to officially sanction the comonitoring of offenders and to establish protocols for the transfer of cases and assist in securing state court recognition of tribal court orders.

 One MOU, with Humboldt County, provides for joint supervision of tribal members sentenced to ankle monitoring for curfew compliance and alcohol consumption. The tribal court may recommend or refer a tribal member for placement in the program, which is limited to minimum-security inmates and low-level offenders related to substance or alcohol abuse. Other MOUs provide for the tribal court to conduct mental health screening, treatment planning, case management, and court monitoring for juvenile offenders and adults in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. The ultimate goal for the Yurok Tribe is to assume jurisdiction over all these cases, exercising its concurrent authority. In the meantime, the state and tribal systems have agreed to allocate parts of the process to the entity that can be most effective in addressing problems of substance abuse and associated offenses.

For additional information contact:
Honorable Abby Abinanti
Chief Judge
Yurok Tribal Court
(707) 482-1350
aabinanti@gmail.com