Tribal prosecutor will have Special Assistant US Attorney status to implement VAWA 2013 provisions
Photo/Francesca Hillery
Source: Tulalip Tribes
Tulalip, WA—July 11, 2014—Herman Williams, Chairman of the Tulalip Tribes signed a memorandum of understanding today with the United States Attorney for the Western District, Jenny A. Durkan, which calls for the appointment of Tulalip prosecutor Sharon Jones Hayden to Special Assistant United State Attorney (SAUSA). The SAUSA designation will help the Tulalip Court continue to implement the new tribal provisions under the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2013.
The Tulalip Tribes has already begun to implement the Special Criminal Domestic Violence Jurisdiction (SCDVJ) that expands tribal jurisdiction to non-Indians who have committed domestic violence crimes against Native Americans on the Tulalip Reservation. Tulalip is one of three pilot tribes who are rolling out the new provisions before other U.S. tribes begin to implement in March 2015.
“We value our relationship with the US Attorney here in the Western District and the new SAUSA appointment will help our tribal court better protect our people,” said Tulalip Tribes Chairman Herman Williams. “We have worked hard to build a justice system that makes our community safer for everyone.”
“This is the first Tribal Prosecutor SAUSA appointment in this District and is an important recognition of this Office’s partnership with tribal communities in Western Washington to foster and promote the reduction of violence and enhance public safety for tribal communities,” said Jenny A. Durkan, US Attorney for the Western District.
As a SAUSA, Ms. Jones Hayden will work closely with the US Attorney Western District’s Assistant United States Attorney Tribal Liaisons in handling cases involving domestic violence crimes committed by Indian and non-Indian offenders occurring within the Tulalip Tribes’ territorial jurisdiction, and particularly those cases that fall within the newly enacted Violence Against Women’s Act Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction.