Tulalip Tribal Chief Judge Theresa Pouley Visits U.S. Attorney's Office to Celebrate Native American -- Alaska Native Heritage Month

                        In honor of Native American/Alaska Native Heritage Month, Tulalip Tribal Chief Judge Theresa Pouley spoke to the U.S. Attorney’s Office about justice in Indian Country.  The Tulalip Tribes are one of three tribal entities in the country that were authorized by Attorney General Holder to set up a pilot program to prosecute domestic violence cases involving non-native defendants in tribal court under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2013.    Judge Pouley noted that over the last nine months five cases have been brought as part of the pilot project with three convictions, one dismissal and one case scheduled for trial in January 2015.  More on VAWA is available here.

            Judge Pouley is also the Associate Justice of the Colville Court of Appeals, and is the former Chief Judge of the Lummi Tribal Court.  Judge Pouley was appointed to the Indian Law & Order Commission by President Obama in 2011.  Judge Pouley graduated from Wayne State University Law School in 1987 and is admitted to the Michigan and Washington Bars.  She is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes in eastern Washington.  More on Judge Pouley is available here.