ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION
JOINT FEDERAL-STATE COMMISSION
ON
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING
ALASKA NATIVES
4000 Old Seward Highway, Suite 100
Anchorage,
Alaska 99503
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Witness List | PDF
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COMMISSIONER SEBESTA: Mr. Jim Christensen? I'd like to invite you to give your testimony and to introduce yourself.
(TESTIMONY OF JIM CHRISTENSEN ATTACHED AS EXHIBIT
#3)
COMMISSIONER SEBESTA: Thank you very much.
Appreciate your testimony. I'd like to ask if there’s members
of the Commission that would like to question you?
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: I just have one question. I believe in the report of the Judicial Council, talking about the methods of administering justice, and so forth, in Minto, Sitka, and Eek, stated that one of the weaknesses to date is the inability to enforce the sentence. Do you have any comments on that, as far as what Barrow has been able to accomplish? And Barrow, I know, is a different approach than Sitka and Minto.
MR. CHRISTENSEN: The pact in Barrow is completely
voluntary, and the people that have a dispute, an argument
between them, go there voluntarily and submit to theirs; but
they're mostly civil cases. I think, in rural Alaska, if tribal
courts are to raise us, they'll need the partnership with the
police to act as an enforcement arm of the tribal court if
necessary; but that’s going to require the state and federal agencies to -- controlling right now, state and municipal police, by law it's going to require their cooperation; and I see that' s going to happen in the near future. It -- as time evolves here, I believe that this will become -- tribal courts will become more of an effective tool than the state criminal justice system, save for those low-level misdemeanors. And I see, it may take the police will have to work with them and take -- serve summonses for that tribal court, so that they don’t have to fund those positions totally by themselves. And I know we’re
certainly willing to explore any alternative to a system that
right now is grinding to a halt.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: That's why I was asking
what solution you may have for that
what seems to be obvious problem
(indiscernible -- speaking simultaneously).
MR. CHRISTENSEN: Well, I
looked at that also in the -- like in the Minto Court's experience,
maybe
they had four, five, or six cases where the sentence of
community service was not carried out; but they op -- and it
was maybe
you would characterize it as unsuccessful there were still
10 or 12 that were successful; so, in the overall picture,
there's 10 or 12 cases that were successfully treated by
people in the community, which otherwise wouldn't have
been treated by anybody.
COMMISSIONER ELLIOTT: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER SEBESTA: Thank you very much, Jim. I appreciate that; and I think that the comments, especially about the community involvement in getting -- you know, dealing especially with these misdemeanors is especially important. I think that that's something we have to direct our attention to and support you in that.
I think -- let’s see, the next three people are Marsha McCrimmon, Bessie O’Rourke,
and Edward Casey; and I think that we should take about a ten-minute
break; and so, those three people, if they would like to be
available, I have 10:55 now, maybe we can get together at 11:05.
(Off record at 10:55 a.m. for 10-minute recess.)
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attempt to keep the online document the same as the original,
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