U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California issued the following announcement on Sept. 11.
U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer announced that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women has awarded $363,223 to the Pauma Band of Mission Indians to support the tribe’s criminal justice response to domestic violence.
“This grant will enable the Pauma Band’s criminal justice system to ensure both victim safety and offender accountability,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “All parties must receive the full measure of rights guaranteed by the criminal justice system when violence occurs, and importantly the tribes can provide this in a culturally competent way.”The Office of Violence Against Women currently administers 19 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and subsequent legislation. These grant programs are designed to develop the nation’s capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable.
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) included a provision recognizing the authority of participating tribes to exercise “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” (SDVCJ) over certain defendants, regardless of their Indian or non-Indian status, who commit crimes of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country. The Act also specified the rights that a participating tribe must provide to defendants in SDVCJ cases. The Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction (Tribal Jurisdiction) Program is designed to assist Indian tribes in exercising SDVCJ.
Through this grant program, Indian tribes receive support to exercise SDVCJ and technical assistance for planning and implementing changes in their criminal justice systems necessary to exercise the jurisdiction. The program encourages collaborations among tribal leadership, tribal courts, tribal prosecutors, tribal attorneys, tribal defenders, law enforcement, probation, service providers, and other partners to incorporate systemic change that ensures victim safety and offender accountability.
The Pauma Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Tribal Government. The Pauma-Yuima reservation is located in Pauma Valley in northeastern San Diego County, California. The tribe, and its internal and external partners, are committed to developing, implementing, and exercising SDVCJ. Through this project, the Pauma Tribe will dedicate a Domestic Violence Court Program Manager to lead the effort with the partnership of the Pauma Tribal Council, Tribal Administration, Tribal Attorney, the Pauma Police Department, the Domestic Violence Program, and the Sexual Assault Response Team.
Through the Pauma Domestic Violence Court Project the partners will engage in activities focused on: strengthening the tribal criminal justice system in order to implement and exercise SDVCJ; providing indigent criminal defendants, in SDVCJ proceedings, with effective assistance of licensed defense counsel; ensuring jurors are summoned, selected, and instructed appropriately; and affording victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protection orders crime victim rights. Specific activities include, but are not limited to: completing the required planning period to engage all required and key partners in a planning process and MOU development; participating in the Inter-Tribal Technical Assistance Working Group (ITWG) on SDVCJ; participating in on-site and other training and technical assistance opportunities; and submitting the SDVCJ supporting certifications for OVW review and approval.
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