Duro v. Reina: The Last Nail in the Coffin for Indian Tribal Sovereignty

The United States Supreme Court dealt a serious blow to tribal sovereignty and dignity in Duro v. Reina. In Duro, the Court held that a tribal court may not exercise criminal jurisdiction over Indians who are not members of that tribe. The Duro decision added insult to the injury of Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, decided twelve years earlier, in which the Court held that tribal courts lack criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Because non-Indians and nonmember Indians constitute a large percentage of the population on many reservations, these decisions seriously impair the tribes' ability to preserve law and order on the reservations.